Explanatory note

These Regulations remake the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”) with certain changes to align them, where possible, with the work-focused interview regime prescribed in Chapters 2 and 3 of Part 8 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.

Regulation 2 defines a relevant claimant for the purposes of these Regulations.

Regulation 3 sets out the purpose of a work-focused interview.

Regulation 4 provides that a relevant claimant is required to take part in one or more work-focused interviews and sets out the circumstances where that requirement is not to apply or may be deferred.

Regulation 5 provides for the relevant claimant to be advised of the time, date and place of the work-focused interview, that a work-focused interview may take place at a relevant claimant’s home in certain circumstances, and sets out the circumstances where a relevant claimant is regarded as having taken part in a work-focused interview.

Regulation 6 provides for the making of an action plan in relation to the relevant claimant.

Regulation 7 provides for the case where a relevant claimant has failed to take part in a work-focused interview, gives a relevant claimant an opportunity to show good cause for that failure and specifies matters to be taken into account in determining whether a relevant claimant has shown good cause for a failure to take part in a work-focused interview.

Regulation 8 sets out the consequences of a failure to show good cause for not taking part in a work-focused interview including how benefit is to be reduced and specifies the circumstances where those consequences come to an end or do not apply.

Regulation 9 provides that a decision that a relevant claimant has failed to take part in a work-focused interview without good cause can be appealed to an appeal tribunal.

Regulation 10 makes minor consequential amendments.

Regulation 11 revokes the 2005 Regulations and makes other consequential revocations, savings and transitional provisions. It provides that a person subject to a reduction under the 2005 Regulations remains subject to those Regulations until the ending of that reduction.

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.