Regulation 1 Citation, commencement and interpretationI1

These Regulations may be cited as the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and shall come into operation on 6th October 2003.

In these Regulations –

• “the Act” means the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002;

• “the 1972 Order” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972^f1;

• F1“the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007;

• F2“adoption leave” means a period of absence from work on ordinary or additional adoption leave in accordance with Article 107A or 107B of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

• “the appointed day” means the day appointed under section 13(3) of the Act;

• F3“armed forces independence payment” means armed forces independence payment under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011;

• F4“the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme” means the scheme established under section 1(2) of the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004;

• “attendance allowance” means –

  1. (a)

     an attendance allowance under section 64 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

  2. (b)

     an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

  3. (c)

     a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by paragraph 4(2)(b) of Part II of Schedule 8 to the Contributions and Benefits Act;

  4. (d)

     an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule 8 to the Contributions and Benefits Act;

  5. (e)

     a payment by virtue of Article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983^f2 or any analogous payment; or

  6. (f)

     F5any payment based on a need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension, or any other such payment granted in respect of disablement which falls within regulation 15(5)(ac);

• F6“benefit week” means—

  1. (a)

     where state pension credit is paid in advance, the period of 7 days beginning on the day on which, in the claimant’s case, that benefit is payable;

  2. (b)

     where state pension credit is paid in arrears, the period of 7 days ending on the day on which, in the claimant’s case, that benefit is payable;

• F7“board and lodging accommodation” means accommodation provided to a person or, if he is a member of a family, to him or any other member of his family, for a charge which is inclusive of—

  1. (a)

     the provision of that accommodation; and

  2. (b)

     at least some cooked or prepared meals which both are cooked or prepared (by a person other than the person to whom the accommodation is provided or a member of his family) and are consumed in that accommodation or associated premises,

  but not accommodation provided by a close relative of his or of his partner, or other than on a commercial basis;

• F8“the Caxton Foundation” means the charitable trust of that name established on 28th March 2011, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from hepatitis C and other persons eligible for payment in accordance with its provisions;

• “the Claims and Payments Regulations” means the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987^f3;

• “close relative” means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, F9or if any of the preceding persons is one member of a couple, the other member of that couple;

• F10“the Computation of Earnings Regulations” means the Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations (Northern Ireland)1996;

• F11“contributory employment and support allowance” means a contributory allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (employment and support allowance);

• F12“couple” means—

  1. (a)

     a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

  2. (b)

     a man and woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

  3. (c)

     two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or

  4. (d)

     two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners,

  and for the purposes of paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;

• F13“dwelling occupied as the home” means the dwelling together with any garage, garden and outbuildings normally occupied by the claimant as his home, including any part thereof not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately, together with –

  1. (a)

     any agricultural land adjoining that dwelling, and

  2. (b)

     any land not adjoining that dwelling which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately;

• “the Eileen Trust” means the charitable trust of that name established on 29th March 1993 out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with its provisions;

• F14“the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations” means the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008;

• F15“equity release scheme” means a loan –

  1. (a)

     made between a person (“the lender”) and the claimant;

  2. (b)

     by means of which a sum of money is advanced by the lender to the claimant by way of payments at regular intervals, and

  3. (c)

     which is secured on a dwelling in which the claimant owns an estate or interest and which he occupies as his home;

• F16“foreign state retirement pension” means any pension which is paid under the law of a country outside the United Kingdom and is in the nature of social security;

• “full-time student” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 61(1) of the Income Support Regulations;

• “the Fund” means moneys made available from time to time by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with the provisions of a scheme established by him on 24th April 1992 or, in Scotland, on 10th April 1992;

• F17“the Graduated Retirement Benefit Regulations” means the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005;

• “a guaranteed income payment” means a payment under Article 14(1)(b) or Article 21(1)(a) of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005;

• F18“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006;

• “the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006;

• F19“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (employment and support allowance);

• “the Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987^f4;

• F20“independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;

• F21...

• F22...

• F23...

• F24...

• F25“the Independent Living Fund (2006)” means the Trust of that name established by a deed dated 10th April 2006 and made between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of the one part and Margaret Rosemary Cooper, Michael Beresford Boyall and Marie Theresa Martin of the other part;

• “the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations” means the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996^f5;

• F26“the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund” means the company limited by guarantee (number 5505072) and registered charity of that name established on 11th July 2005 for the purpose of (amongst other things) relieving sickness, disability or financial need of victims (including families or dependants of victims) of the terrorist attacks carried out in London on 7th July 2005;

• “the Macfarlane Trust” means the charitable trust, established partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State to the Haemophilia Society, for the relief of poverty or distress among those suffering from haemophilia;

• “the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust” means the trust of that name, established on 29th January 1990 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia;

• “the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No. 2) Trust” means the trust of that name, established on 3rd May 1991 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia and other beneficiaries;

• F27“MFET Limited” means the company limited by guarantee (number 7121661) of that name, established for the purpose in particular of making payments in accordance with arrangements made with the Secretary of State to persons who have acquired HIV as a result of treatment by the NHS with blood or blood products;

• F28“nursing home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 11 of that Order;

• F29“paternity leave” means a period of absence from work on F30... paternity leave by virtue of Article 112A or 112B of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996F31...;

• “pension fund holder” means with respect to F32an occupational pension scheme, a personal pension scheme or retirement annuity contract, the trustees, managers or scheme administrators, as the case may be, of the scheme or contract concerned;

• “policy of life insurance” means any instrument by which the payment of money is assured on death (except death by accident only) or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life, or any instrument evidencing a contract which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life;

• “prisoner” means a person who –

  1. (a)

     is detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under a sentence imposed by a court, or

  2. (b)

     is on temporary release in accordance with the provisions of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953^f6,

  other than a person detained in hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986^f7;

• F33“public authority” has the meaning given in section 75(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998;

• “qualifying person” means a person in respect of whom payment has been made from the Fund F34, the Eileen Trust F35, F36 MFET Limited, the Skipton Fund F37, the Caxton Foundation or the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund;

• F38“residential care home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 10 of that Order;

• F39...

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)

  5. (e)

  6. (f)

• F40“shared parental leave” means leave under Article107E or 107G of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

• F41“the Skipton Fund” means the ex-gratia payment scheme administered by the Skipton Fund Limited, incorporated on 25th March 2004, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from hepatitis C and other persons eligible for payment in accordance with the scheme’s provisions;

• “voluntary organisation” means any association carrying on or proposing to carry on any activities otherwise than for the purpose of gain by the association or by individual members of the association.

• F42“water charges” means any water and sewerage charges under Chapter I of Part VII of the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in so far as such charges are in respect of the dwelling which a person occupies as his home.

In these Regulations a member of F43a couple is referred to as a partner and both members are referred to as partners.

References in these Regulations to a claimant participating as a service user are to—

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954^f8 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.