The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Made: 21st December 2000

Approved by resolution of the Assembly on: 21st May 2001

Coming into operation: 6th April 2001

The Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 30A(2A), (6) and (7), 30C(3), 30DD and 171(2) to (4) of, and paragraph 2(8) of Schedule 3 to, the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00001] and Article 75(5) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999[^f00002], and now vested in it[^f00003], and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, by this statutory rule, which contains only regulations made by virtue of, or consequential upon, Articles 59 to 61 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2001.

• (2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994[^f00004].

• (3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954[^f00005] shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2

• (1) The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

• (2) After regulation 1A[^f00006] (disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration Act) there shall be inserted the following Part—

(1B) (1) For the purposes of paragraph 2(2)(a) of Schedule 3[^f00007] (first contribution condition) a person who satisfies any of the conditions referred to in paragraph (2) shall be taken to satisfy the first contribution condition if— (a) he paid contributions of a relevant class before the relevant time in respect of any one year; and (b) the earnings factor is derived— (i) from earnings, on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid, which are not less than that year’s lower earnings limit multiplied by 25, or (ii) from Class 2 contributions multiplied by 25. (2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that— (a) he was a person who, in the relevant tax year before the first day of incapacity for work, was entitled to invalid care allowance under section 70[^f00008] or would have been in receipt of invalid care allowance but for the provisions of regulation 4 of the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979[^f00009]; (b) immediately before the first day of incapacity for work, he was a person— (i) who had been engaged in remunerative employment for a period of more than 2 years, and (ii) who was entitled to a disability working allowance or disabled person’s tax credit, as the case may be, under section 128[^f00010] throughout that period; or (c) he is, on the first day of his incapacity for work, a person who had received incapacity benefit in the last complete tax year immediately preceding the relevant benefit year in which he again becomes entitled to that benefit.

• (3) In regulation 3(1)[^f00011] (days not to be treated as days of incapacity for work) after sub-paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—

(aa) a day which is, for the purposes of section 30A(2A)(c)[^f00012] (period of 196 consecutive days preceding the relevant day), not part of any consecutive days of incapacity;

• (4) After regulation 3 there shall be inserted the following regulation—

(3A) For the purposes of incapacity benefit for persons incapacitated in youth under section 30A(2A), any day in respect of which a person is entitled to statutory sick pay immediately before the relevant day shall be treated as a day of incapacity for work.

• (5) After Part III (rate of incapacity benefit) there shall be added the following Parts—