Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”) and the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003. They make changes to the provisions relating to a person’s housing costs that can be met by income support, jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit.

Regulation 2(2) amends regulation 6(5) of the Income Support Regulations with the effect that a person is treated as not engaged in remunerative work for the first four weeks after commencing work where he or his partner had an applicable amount which included an amount for housing costs under paragraph 17 of Schedule 3 to those Regulations or (as the case may be) under paragraph 16 of Schedule 2 to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations.

Regulations 2(3) and 4 make provision for certain additional housing costs to be included in a person’s applicable amount for income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance where he, his partner, or (in the case of a jobseeker’s allowance) either member of a joint-claim couple cease to receive income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or state pension credit (as the case may be), but become entitled to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance within a period of 12 weeks or, in certain cases, 26 weeks or less.

Regulation 2(3)(b) amends Schedule 3 (housing costs) of the Income Support Regulations to clarify that where a claimant is treated as being in receipt of income support under the linking rules in paragraph 14 of that Schedule, this does not affect the circumstances in which housing costs are not payable under paragraph 4 because they were incurred during a period of entitlement to that benefit. Regulation 4(b) makes an equivalent amendment in relation to jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulations 2(3)(c), 4(c) and 5 make minor amendments so as to omit references or provisions which are now redundant.

Regulation 3 makes a minor amendment to the meaning of “family” in paragraph 2A of Schedule 8B to the 1987 Regulations with the effect that this includes persons who have not attained the age of 20.

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.