The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) (Amendment and Modification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025

Made: 7th April 2025

Coming into operation: 30th April 2025

The Department for Communities makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 5(1)(q) and (5) and 165(1), (4) and (5) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00001] and now vested in it[^f00002] and sections 15(1) and 60(2) of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016[^f00003].

Citation, commencement, interpretation and cessation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) (Amendment and Modification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 and come into operation on 30th April 2025.

• (2) In these Regulations “the 2016 Regulations” means the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016[^f00004].

• (3) Regulation 3 will cease to have effect on 30th April 2026 at midnight.

Amendment of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland)

2

• (1) Paragraph 5(2) (priority as between certain debts) of Schedule 5 (deductions from benefit and direct payment to third parties) to the 2016 Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

• (2) After head (d) insert—

(dd) regulation (3) (deductions from debtor’s universal credit) of the Fines Regulations;

• (3) Omit head (ee).

Modification of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland)

3

• (1) Schedule 5 (deductions from benefit and direct payment to third parties) to the 2016 Regulations shall be modified in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

• (2) In paragraph 5(2) (priority as between certain debts)—

• (a) as if before head (a) there were inserted—

(za) Schedule 6 (deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care);

• (b) as if head (g) were omitted.

• (3) In paragraph 5(4) as if for “housing costs” there were substituted “Schedule 6 (deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care)”.

Revocation

4

Regulation 5(c) of the Social Security (Fines) (Deduction from Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021[^f00005] is revoked.

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Communities on 7th April 2025

David Tarr — A senior officer of the Department for Communities

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend and modify Schedule 5 (deductions from benefits and direct payment to third parties), to the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R 2016 No. 220) (“the 2016 Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends paragraph 5(2) (priority as between certain debts) of Schedule 5 to the 2016 Regulations to move “regulation (3) (deductions from debtor’s universal credit) of the Fines Regulations” in the order of priority under which the Department makes deductions from Universal Credit to maintain parity with the corresponding Statutory Instrument.

Regulation 3 modifies paragraph 5(2) and paragraph 5(4) of Schedule 5 to the 2016 Regulations to move “deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care”, in the order of priority under which the Department makes deductions from Universal Credit. The modifications have the effect that deductions for child maintenance have priority over the other deductions listed in paragraph 5(2).

Under regulation 1, regulation 3 will cease to have effect on 30th April 2026 at midnight.

Regulation 4 revokes regulation 5(c) of the Social Security (Fines) (Deduction from Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021.

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

A full impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1992 c.8 (N.I.) section 5(5) was inserted by Article 3(1) of the Housing Benefit (Payment to Third Parties) (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/2597 (N.I. 20)) and was amended by paragraph 59(b) of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2006 (N.I. 1)); section 165(1) was amended by paragraph 49(2) of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671) and section 18(5) of the National Insurance Contributions Act 2014 (c.7.)

[^f00002]: See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481 and section 1(7) of the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (c. 5 (N.I.))

[^f00003]: 2016 c. 21 (N.I.), as amended by Article 2 of The Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Relevant Benefits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021 No. 203)

[^f00004]: S.R. 2016 No. 220

[^f00005]: S.R. 2021 No. 215

Editorial notes

[^key-a422755f4f8ee31df28aa2103851a641]: Reg. 1 in operation at 30.4.2025, see reg. 1(1)

[^key-4923d1a140aafb5270a5a2d7be93e4ab]: Reg. 2 in operation at 30.4.2025, see reg. 1(1)

[^key-3bdc5cd38f840be4b8e458ca75ca3bd2]: Reg. 3 in operation at 30.4.2025, see reg. 1(1)

[^key-2f0e30f81b9ee27787e9c75656472690]: Reg. 4 in operation at 30.4.2025, see reg. 1(1)