Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 6th January 2004.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations

2.  In regulation 32 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(3) (information to be given and changes to be notified) for paragraph (1B) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(1B) Except in the case of a jobseeker’s allowance, every beneficiary and every person by whom, or on whose behalf, sums by way of benefit are receivable shall notify the Department of any change of circumstances which he might reasonably be expected to know might affect –

(a)the continuance of entitlement to benefit; or

(b)the payment of the benefit,

as soon as reasonably practicable after the change occurs by giving notice of the change to the appropriate office –

(i)in writing or by telephone (unless the Department determines in any particular case that notice must be in writing or may be given otherwise than in writing or by telephone); or

(ii)in writing if in any class of case it requires written notice (unless it determines in any particular case to accept notice given otherwise than in writing).”.

Amendment of the Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations

3.  In regulation 5(1) of the Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(4) (change affecting other benefit, payment or advantage) for “or sent to the Department in writing (except where it determines in any particular case that it will accept a notice other than in writing) at the appropriate office” there shall be substituted

“to the Department at the appropriate office –

(a)in writing or by telephone (unless the Department determines in any particular case that notice must be in writing or may be given otherwise than in writing or by telephone); or

(b)in writing if in any class of case it requires written notice (unless it determines in any particular case to accept notice given otherwise than in writing)”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”) and the Social Security (Notification of Change of Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”) in respect of notification of changes of circumstances by benefit recipients.

Regulation 2 amends the 1987 Regulations to provide that changes of circumstances affecting the continuance of entitlement to benefit or the payment of benefit shall be notified to the Department for Social Development in writing or by telephone (unless it requires the person to give written notice or accepts another means of notification) or, if it so requires in a class of case, the changes shall be notified in writing unless it accepts another means of notification in any particular case.

Regulation 3 amends the 2001 Regulations to make similar provision for the purpose of offences relating to failure to notify such changes of circumstances.

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.