Regulation 1 Citation, commencement and interpretationI1

These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 and shall come into operation on 15th December 2008.

In these Regulations—

• “the 1998 Order” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998^f1;

• “the 2001 Regulations” means the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001^f2;

• “the 2003 Regulations” means the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003^f3;

• “the 2005 Regulations” means the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005^f4;

• “action plan” has the meaning given by regulation 6;

• “benefit week” means any period of 7 days corresponding to the week in respect of which the relevant specified benefit is due to be paid;

• “the designated authority” means the Department or the Department for Employment and Learning;

• F1“pensionable age”, in the case of a man born before 6th April 1955, means the age when a woman born on the same day as the man would attain pensionable age;

• “relevant claimant” has the meaning given by regulation 2;

• “relevant decision” has the meaning given by section 2B(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (supplementary provisions relating to work-focused interviews);

• “specified benefit” means—

  1. (a)

     incapacity benefit;

  2. (b)

     income support, if any of the following paragraphs of Schedule 1B to the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987^f5 (prescribed categories of person) applies—

     1. (i)

        paragraph 7 ( F2persons treated as capable of work and persons entitled to statutory sick pay ),

     2. (ii)

        paragraph 24 or 25 (persons appealing against a decision which embodies a determination that they are not incapable of work);

  3. (c)

     severe disablement allowance;

• “work-focused interview” means an interview conducted under regulation 5 for the purposes described in regulation 3.

Any notification under these Regulations that is sent by post is to be taken to have been received on the second working day after posting.