The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”) and the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the State Pension Credit Regulations”).

Regulations 2 to 4 amend the Income Support Regulations, the Housing Benefit Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to—

• increase the lower capital limit of £3,000 to £6,000;

• remove some of the provisions that provide different capital limits in special circumstances and update references to capital limits in the regulations that deal with tariff income;

• provide that a person aged under 60, who opts not to take an occupational pension available to him under early release, is not treated as possessing the amount of any income or capital deferred;

• ensure that where money is paid to a third party on behalf of a claimant and is subsequently used by the third party to provide benefits in kind to the claimant, the money will not be disregarded;

• change references to adopters in the income and capital disregards of financial support in order to take account of the commencement of the Adoption and Children Act 2002; and

• change references to take account of the Carers and Direct Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 2002.

Regulations 2 and 4 also amend the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations so as to—

• provide that a person aged 60 or over, who opts not to take an occupational pension available to him, shall be treated as possessing the amount of any income foregone from the date on which it could be expected to be acquired were an application to be made; and

• make it clear, in the case of a claimant aged 60 or over, that income which could be obtained from money purchase benefits under an occupational pension scheme is treated in the same way as such income under a personal pension scheme.

Regulation 5 amends the State Pension Credit Regulations so as to insert a definition of “board and lodging accommodation” in regulation 1(2) and also makes amendments consequential on the new definition.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulation 3, to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee, they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(b) of that Act. Otherwise they make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.