Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 1st September 2005.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations

2.  In paragraph 6 of Schedule 8B to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(4) (deductions of mortgage interest from benefit and payment to qualifying lenders) for “£0.78” there shall be substituted “£0.31”.

Revocation

3.  The Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004(5) are hereby revoked.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

Regulation2 of these Regulations amends paragraph 6 of Schedule 8B to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 by reducing from £0.78 to £0.31 the fee which qualifying lenders pay for the purpose of defraying administrative expenses incurred by the Department for Social Development in making payments in respect of mortgage interest direct to those lenders.

Regulation 3 makes a consequential revocation.

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.

The impact on business of applying these Regulations is minimal.