The Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020

Made: 27th December 2020

Coming into operation: 1st January 2021

The Secretary of State and the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 155(1) and (2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00001].

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020.

• (2) This Order comes into operation on 1st January 2021.

• (3) In this Order—

• (a) “Principal Order” means the Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 1991[^f00002];

• (b) “Convention on Social Security” means the Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway[^f00003].

Modification of legislation and variation of the Principal Order

2

• (1) The legislation to which this paragraph applies is modified, and the Principal Order is varied, to the extent required to give effect to the provisions contained in the Convention on Social Security set out in the Schedule to the Principal Order, as amended by the Agreement[^f00004] contained in the Letters set out in the Schedule to this Order, so far as the same relate to Northern Ireland.

• (2) Paragraph (1) applies to—

• (a) the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00005];

• (b) the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00006];

• (c) the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00007];

• (d) Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998[^f00008];

• (e) the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002[^f00009];

• (f) Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007[^f00010];

• (g) Parts 2 and 5 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015[^f00011];

• (h) Parts 1 and 5 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015[^f00012];

• (i) the following as they form part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018[^f00013]—

• (i) Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems;

• (ii) Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004;

• (j) regulations within the scope of section 155(5) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

Revocation

3

The Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992[^f00014] is revoked.

SCHEDULE — Exchange of Letters between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway for the continued application and amendment of the Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, and the Protocol concerning Medical Treatment, done at Oslo on 19 June 1990

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Justin Tomlinson — Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work — Department for Work and Pensions — 27th December 2020

Jim Harra — Justin Holliday — Two of the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs — 22nd December 2020

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order makes provision for the modification of specified social security legislation, so as to give effect in Northern Ireland to the amendments agreed on 7th December 2020 (“the Agreement”) to the Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, and the Protocol concerning Medical Treatment, done at Oslo at 19 June 1990 (“the Convention”).

The Agreement provides for the changes to the Convention to take effect from 1st January 2021.

This Order revokes the Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992.

The Order does not impose any costs on business, charities or the voluntary sector. A Tax Information and Impact Note has not been prepared for this instrument as it gives effect to previously announced policy.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1992 c. 8. Section 155 is amended by S.I. 2020/1508; there are other amendments that are not relevant to this Order. In relation to Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance in Northern Ireland, the power under section 155 was transferred to the Board by section 50(1) and (2)(d) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21). The Board is defined in section 67 of that Act as the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. The functions of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue were transferred to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Commissioners for Revenue and Customs by section 5(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c. 11). Section 50(1) of that Act provides that, insofar as is appropriate, in consequence of section 5, a reference to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, however expressed, shall be taken as a reference to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

[^f00002]: S.R. 1991 No. 139.

[^f00003]: Cmnd 1331.

[^f00004]: The Exchange of Letters between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway for the continued application and amendment of the Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, and the Protocol concerning Medical Treatment, done at Oslo on 19 June 1990. The Agreement is laid before Parliament in the Treaty Series for information.

[^f00005]: No modifications are made in respect of payments out of the social fund, Christmas bonus, statutory sick pay or statutory maternity pay because section 155(4)(b)(i)-(iv) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 excludes these benefits from the scope of the power to modify.

[^f00006]: 1992 c. 7.

[^f00007]: S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15).

[^f00008]: S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10).

[^f00009]: 2002 c. 14 (N.I.).

[^f00010]: 2007 c. 2 (N.I.).

[^f00011]: S.I. 2015/2006 (N.I. 1).

[^f00012]: 2015 c. 5 (N.I.).

[^f00013]: 2018 c. 16. Section 3 is to be amended by section 25(2) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1). Regulation 883/2004 and 987/2009 as they form part of domestic law under section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 are revoked (with savings) by S.I. 2020/1508 with effect from IP completion day.

[^f00014]: S.R. 1992 No. 563. The Agreement set out in the Schedule to this Order renders the Social Security (Norway) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992 redundant.