The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Made: 26th April 2012

Coming into operation: 16th May 2012

The Department for Social Development makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 21(8)(b) of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00001], and now vested in it[^f00002].

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and shall come into operation on 16th May 2012.

Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations

2

In regulation 72(6)(b) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996[^f00003] (good cause for the purposes of Article 21(5)(a) and (6)(c) and (d) of the Order) omit—

— (i) during the first 13 weeks of entitlement to a jobseeker’s allowance, one hour either way; and (ii) in all other cases,

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 26th April 2012

Anne McCleary — A senior officer of the Department for Social Development

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 72 so that, irrespective of their period of entitlement to a jobseeker’s allowance, a claimant will not generally be able to show good cause for failing to carry out a jobseeker’s direction or to apply for or accept certain types of employment if the reason for the failure relates to the time it would take, or normally take, for them to travel for those purposes by a route and means appropriate to their circumstances and to the employment, or to the carrying out of the jobseeker’s direction, where that time is less than one hour and thirty minutes.

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 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15)

[^f00002]: SeeArticle 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481

[^f00003]: S.R. 1996 No. 198; regulation 72(6) was amended by paragraph 27(c) of Schedule 2 to S.R. 2000 No. 350, regulation 2(3) of S.R. 2004 No. 166 and regulation 11(9)(d) of S.R. 2008 No. 478