The Social Security (Croatia) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the Income-related Benefit Regulations”) in consequence of the accession of Croatia to the European Union on 1st July 2013.

The Income-related Benefit Regulations provide that a claimant is ineligible for benefit where he or she is a “person from abroad” or, in the case of state pension credit, a “person not in Northern Ireland”. A person is a person from abroad or a person not in Northern Ireland if he or she is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland. No person shall be treated as habitually resident without a relevant right to reside in the place where he or she is habitually resident. However, certain categories of persons are exempt from this habitual residence test.

These Regulations insert a new category of persons who are exempt from the habitual residence test, namely nationals of Croatia who are subject to the worker authorisation scheme established by the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013 and who are treated as workers pursuant to those Regulations. This adds to the exemption category, inserted on 1st January 2007, for nationals of Bulgaria and Romania who are subject to the worker authorisation scheme and who are treated as workers pursuant to the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/ 3317).

Regulation 8 amends paragraph 1 of Part II of the Schedule to the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 in order to update the reference to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

Regulation 9 makes consequential revocations.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulations 5 and 6, 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 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, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.