{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bus-operator-coronavirus-financial-assistance-regulations-northern-ireland-2022/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bus-operator-coronavirus-financial-assistance-regulations-northern-ireland-2022/note.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2022/44",
  "legislation_title": "The Bus Operator (Coronavirus, Financial Assistance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bus-operator-coronavirus-financial-assistance-regulations-northern-ireland-2022",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThe First Minister and deputy First Minister, acting jointly, made a determination on 24th January 2022 that exceptional circumstances exist for licensed bus and coach operators, including financial hardship arising from the loss of business, as a consequence of the outbreak of Coronavirus.\nThese Regulations therefore provide for the setting up of a Scheme “the Bus Operator Financial Assistance Scheme 2022” under which the Department for Infrastructure may make financial assistance payments to eligible licensed bus and coach operators who have suffered because of the exceptional circumstances identified over the 1st April 2021 to 31st January 2022 period.\nThe Schedule to these Regulations sets out the detail of the Bus Operator Financial Assistance Scheme 2022.\nThe Scheme—\n(a) specifies the manner in which applications are to be made (paragraph 4);\n(b) specifies the eligibility criteria and the payment amount (paragraphs 5 and 6);\n(c) provides for the Department to approve or reject applications, make payments of financial assistance and advise applicants of its decision regarding payment (paragraph 7);\n(d) provides for the recovery by the Department of any amounts paid in excess of entitlement under the Scheme (paragraph 8);\n(e) provides for a review of the decisions made by the Department (paragraph 9); and\n(f) provides for the request of information from other public bodies for use in determining eligibility, for the sharing of information in relation to eligibility with other public bodies and for the use of information provided by applicants under previous Schemes (paragraph 10).\nAn Explanatory Memorandum has been produced and is available from the Safe and Accessible Travel Division, Department for Infrastructure, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast, BT2 8GB or online alongside these Regulations at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2022/44/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T00:35:50.114663+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}