2003 No. 277
EMPLOYMENT
Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption) and Statutory Adoption Pay (Adoptions from Overseas) (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003
Made 22nd May 2003
Coming into operation 23rd May 2003

The Department for Employment and Learning, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 167ZI and 167ZR of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and with the concurrence of the Treasury, and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby, by this Statutory Rule, which contains only regulations made by virtue of Articles 5 and 6 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 and which is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into operation of that statutory provision, makes the following Regulations:
1992 c. 7; section 167ZI was inserted by Article 5 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I.2002/2836 (N.I. 2)) and section 167ZR was inserted by Article 6 of that Order. Parts XIIZA and XIIZB of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 are, by regulations made under sections 167ZK and 167ZT, namely the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Application of Parts XIIZA and XIIZB to Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R. 2003 No. 221), applied to cases which involve adoption, but not the placement of a child for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, with the modifications prescribed by those Regulations
See sections 167ZI and 167ZR of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7)
S.I.2002/2836 (N.I. 2)
See section 150(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8)

1 Citation and commencement
These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption) and Statutory Adoption Pay (Adoptions from Overseas) (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 23rd May 2003.

2 Interpretation
In these Regulations, “adoption from overseas” means the adoption of a child who enters Northern Ireland from outside the United Kingdom in connection with or for the purposes of adoption which does not involve the placement of the child for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.

3 Modifications of the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 to adoptions from overseas
1 The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 shall have effect in relation to adoptions from overseas with the modifications set out in paragraphs (2) to (5).
S.R. 2002 No. 382
2 In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) –
(a) in the definition of “adopter”, for “has the same meaning as it has in the General Regulations” substitute “means a person by whom the child has been or is to be adopted”;
(b) after the definition of “the General Regulations”, insert –

““official notification” means written notification, issued by or on behalf of the relevant domestic authority, that it is prepared to issue a certificate to the overseas authority concerned with the adoption of the child, or has issued a certificate and sent it to that authority, confirming, in either case, that the adopter is eligible to adopt and has been assessed and approved as being a suitable adoptive parent;
“relevant domestic authority” means –
(a) in the case of an adopter to whom the Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 apply, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety; and
S.R. 2003 No. 16
(b) in any other case, the Secretary of State;”

.
(c) for the definition of “statutory paternity pay (birth)” and “statutory paternity pay (adoption)” substitute –
“statutory paternity pay (adoption)” means statutory paternity pay payable in accordance with the provisions of Part XIIZA of the Act, where the conditions specified in section 167ZB(2) of the Act are satisfied;”.
3 For regulation 1(3), substitute –

“3 References in these Regulations to provisions of Parts XIIZA and XIIZB of the Act are to be construed as references to those provisions as modified by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (Application of Parts XIIZA and XIIZB to Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
S.R. 2003 No. 221”

4 In regulation 5(2) (entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption)) –
(a) in the first line, after “and who” insert “, in the week in which the adopter receives an official notification or completes 26 weeks' continuous employment with his employer, whichever is the later”; and
(b) in sub-paragraph (a) omit the words “in the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with the child for the purposes of adoption”.
5 In regulation 6 (entitlement to statutory adoption pay) –
(a) in the first line, after “and who” insert “, in the week in which he receives an official notification or completes 26 weeks' continuous employment with his employer, whichever is the later”; and
(b) in paragraph (a) omit the words “in the week in which he is notified that he has been matched with the child for the purposes of adoption”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Employment and Learning on 22nd May 2003.
R. S. Davison A senior officer of the Department for Employment and Learning
We concur in the making of these Regulations.
Jim Fitzpatrick Nick Ainger Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury 3rd June 2003

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
This statutory rule contains only regulations made by virtue of Articles 5 and 6 of the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002, which came into operation on 8th December 2002. The statutory rule is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into operation of those provisions. The regulations in it are therefore exempted by section 150(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 from the requirement under section 149 of that Act to refer the proposals to make the regulations to the Social Security Advisory Committee and they are made without reference to the Committee.
These Regulations modify the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 in relation to adoptions from overseas. The 2002 Regulations provide for entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption) and statutory adoption pay to be conditional upon employment with an employer in Northern Ireland in the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with a child for the purposes of adoption. The amendments take account of the fact that there is no “matching” in the case of adoptions from overseas; accordingly they substitute a reference to the adopter’s receipt of an official notification or the completion of 26 weeks' of continuous employment with the employer whichever is the later.
Regulation 3(2)(b) defines the terms “official notification” and “relevant domestic authority” respectively.