The Social Security (Iceland) (Liechtenstein) (Norway) Order 2023

Made: 11th October 2023

Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2) and (3)

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 11th day of October 2023Present,The King’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

In order to give effect to the Convention, therefore, His Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Him by section 179(1)(a) and (2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and of all other powers enabling Him to do so, is pleased, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to order as follows:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Social Security (Iceland) (Liechtenstein) (Norway) Order 2023.

• (2) This article and article 4 of this Order come into force on the day after this Order is made.

• (3) Articles 2 and 3 of this Order come into force—

• (a) in relation to the United Kingdom and the first EEA EFTA State to notify the Depositary in accordance with Article 74(1) and (2) (Entry into force) of the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order, on the first day of the month following the later of the dates on which the Depositary receives the notification of that EEA EFTA State and the United Kingdom[^f00003]; and

• (b) in relation to an EEA EFTA State which notifies the Depositary after the notification given by the EEA EFTA State referred to in sub-paragraph (a) in accordance with Article 74(1) and (3) of the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order, on the first day of the month following the date on which the Depositary receives the notification of that EEA EFTA State.

• (4) In this Order—

• (a) “the Depositary” is to be interpreted in accordance with Article 73(2) (Authentic text and depositary) of the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order; and

• (b) “EEA EFTA State” has the meaning given to it in Article 1(o) (Definitions) of the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order.

Modification of legislation

2

• (1) The legislation to which this paragraph applies is modified to the extent required to give effect to the provisions contained in the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order, so far as they relate to England, Wales and Scotland.

• (2) Subject to paragraph (3), paragraph (1) applies to—

• (a) the Social Security Administration Act 1992[^f00004];

• (b) the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992[^f00005];

• (c) the Jobseekers Act 1995[^f00006];

• (d) Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Social Security Act 1998[^f00007];

• (e) Part 2 of the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999[^f00008];

• (f) the State Pension Credit Act 2002[^f00009];

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

• (h) Parts 1 and 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012[^f00011];

• (i) Parts 1 and 5 of the Pensions Act 2014[^f00012];

• (j) 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 883/2004; and

• (k) regulations within the scope of section 179(5) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992[^f00014].

• (3) Paragraph (1) does not modify any legislation so far as it would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament to make such modification.

• (4) Paragraph (1) also applies to Part 3 of the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999[^f00015] so far as such provision relates to Northern Ireland.

Variation of Orders

3

The Social Security (Iceland) Order 1985[^f00016] and the Social Security (Norway) Order 1991[^f00017] are varied in accordance with Article 78 (Relationship with pre-existing Social Security Coordination Agreements) of the Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order, so far as they relate to England, Wales and Scotland.

Amendment of the Social Security (Norway) Order 2020 and the Social Security (Switzerland) Order 2021

4

• (1) The Social Security (Norway) Order 2020[^f00018] is amended as follows.

• (a) In Article 2(3), omit “, unless regulation 3 of the Scotland Act 2016 (Transitional) Regulations 2017 applies to functions conferred on a Minister of the Crown in respect of that devolved competence”.

• (b) In Article 2(4), for “Part 2”, substitute “Part 3”.

• (2) The Social Security (Switzerland) Order 2021[^f00019] is amended as follows.

• (a) In Article 2(3), omit “, unless regulation 3 of the Scotland Act 2016 (Transitional) Regulations 2017 applies to functions conferred on a Minister of the Crown in respect of that devolved competence”.

• (b) In Article 2(4), for “Part 2”, substitute “Part 3”.

SCHEDULE — Convention on Social Security Coordination between Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

PREAMBLE

Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

NOTING that the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020 and ceased applying the Agreement on the European Economic Area with effect from 1 January 2021;

RECOGNISING the importance of the coordination of social security rights enjoyed by persons moving between the States to work, to stay or to reside, as well as the rights enjoyed by their family members and survivors;

Have agreed as follows:

TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Convention, the following definitions apply:

• (a) “the 1983 Convention” means the 1983 Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Iceland, signed in Reykjavik on 25 August 1983;

• (b) “the 1990 Convention” 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, signed in Oslo on 19 June 1990;

• (c) “activity as an employed person” means any activity or equivalent situation treated as such for the purposes of the social security legislation of the State in which such activity or equivalent situation exists;

• (d) “activity as a self-employed person” means any activity or equivalent situation treated as such for the purposes of the social security legislation of the State in which such activity or equivalent situation exists;

• (e) “activity in the continental shelf area” means an activity which occurs in the continental shelf area in connection with the exploration of the seabed or subsoil or the exploitation of the natural resources of the continental shelf area;

• (f) “assisted reproduction services” means any medical, surgical or obstetric services provided for the purpose of assisting a person to carry a child;

• (g) “benefits in kind” means:

• (i) for the purposes of Chapter1 of TitleIII, benefits in kind provided for under the legislation of a State which are intended to supply, make available, pay directly or reimburse the cost of medical care and products and services ancillary to that care;

• (ii) for the purposes of Chapter2 of TitleIII, all benefits in kind relating to accidents at work and occupational diseases as defined in sub-paragraph (i) of this definition and provided for under the States’ accidents at work and occupational diseases schemes;

• (h) “civil servant” means a person considered to be such or treated as such by the State to which the administration employing them is subject;

• (i) “competent authority” means, in respect of each State, the Minister, Ministers or other equivalent authority responsible for social security schemes throughout or in any part of the State in question;

• (j) “competent institution” means:

• (i) the institution with which the person concerned is insured at the time of the application for benefit; or

• (ii) the institution from which the person concerned is or would be entitled to benefits if that person or a member or members of their family resided in the State in which the institution is situated; or

• (iii) the institution designated by the competent authority of the State concerned; or

• (iv) in the case of a scheme relating to an employer’s obligations in respect of the benefits set out in Article6, either the employer or the insurer involved or, in default thereof, the body or authority designated by the competent authority of the State concerned;

• (k) “competent State” means the State in which the competent institution is situated;

• (l) “continental shelf area” means, in relation to the United Kingdom, any area outside the territorial sea of the United Kingdom which in accordance with international law has been designated, under the laws of the United Kingdom concerning the continental shelf, as an area within which the rights of the United Kingdom with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised; and, in relation to Norway, the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond the territorial sea of the Kingdom of Norway which, in accordance with international law, are subject to Norwegian sovereign rights in respect of the exploration and exploitation of natural resources;

• (m) “death grant” means any one-off payment in the event of death, excluding the lump-sum benefits referred to in sub-paragraph(ff);

• (n) “EEA EFTA Separation Agreement” means the Agreement on arrangements between Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the European Economic Area Agreement and other agreements applicable between the United Kingdom and the EEA EFTA States by virtue of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, signed in London on 28 January 2020;

• (o) “EEA EFTA State” means each of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein (“Liechtenstein”) and/or the Kingdom of Norway (“Norway”), collectively the “EEA EFTA States”;

• (p) “electronic exchange” means a system for the exchange of social security information using transmission by electronic means;

• (q) “family benefit” means all benefits in kind or in cash intended to meet family expenses;

• (r) “frontier worker” means any person pursuing an activity as an employed or self-employed person in a State and who resides in another State to which that person returns as a rule daily or at least once a week;

• (s) “home base” means the place from where the crew member normally starts and ends a duty period or a series of duty periods, and where, under normal conditions, the operator/airline is not responsible for the accommodation of the crew member concerned;

• (t) “institution” means, in respect of each State, the body or authority responsible for applying all or part of the legislation;

• (u) “institution of the place of residence” and “institution of the place of stay” mean, respectively, the institution which is competent to provide benefits in the place where the person concerned resides and the institution which is competent to provide benefits in the place where the person concerned is staying, in accordance with the legislation administered by that institution or, where no such institution exists, the institution designated by the competent authority of the State concerned;

• (v) “insured person”, in relation to the social security branches covered by Chapters1and3 of TitleIII, means any person satisfying the conditions required under the legislation of the State competent under TitleII in order to have the right to benefits, taking into account the provisions of this Convention;

• (w) “Joint Administrative Committee” means the committee established under Article 70 of this Convention.

• (x) “legal residence” means residence or stay in accordance with the relevant State’s immigration laws;

• (y) “legislation” means, in respect of each State, laws, regulations and other statutory provisions and all other implementing measures relating to the social security branches covered by Article6(1), but excludes contractual provisions other than those which serve to implement an insurance obligation arising from the laws and regulations referred to in this sub-paragraph or which have been the subject of a decision by the public authorities which makes them obligatory or extends their scope, provided that the State concerned makes a declaration to that effect, notified to the other States and to the Joint Administrative Committee;

• (z) “long-term care benefit” means a benefit in kind or in cash the purpose of which is to address the care needs of a person who, on account of impairment, requires considerable assistance, including but not limited to assistance from another person or persons to carry out essential activities of daily living for an extended period of time in order to support their personal autonomy; this includes benefits granted for the same purpose to a person providing such assistance;

• (aa) “member of the family” means:

• (i) (A) any person defined or recognised as a member of the family or designated as a member of the household by the legislation under which benefits are provided;

(B) with regard to benefits in kind pursuant to Chapter1 of TitleIII, any person defined or recognised as a member of the family or designated as a member of the household by the legislation of the State in which that person resides;

• (ii) if the legislation of a State which is applicable under sub-paragraph (i) does not make a distinction between the members of the family and other persons to whom it is applicable, the spouse, minor children, and dependent children who have reached the age of majority shall be considered members of the family;

• (iii) if, under the legislation which is applicable under sub-paragraphs(i) and(ii), a person is considered a member of the family or member of the household only if that person lives in the same household as the insured person or pensioner, this condition shall be considered satisfied if the person in question is mainly dependent on the insured person or pensioner;

• (bb) “obligation of professional secrecy” means an obligation to protect information subject to such an obligation effectively through appropriate security, technical and organisational measures and prevent unauthorised access, unauthorised modification and unauthorised disclosure of such information;

• (cc) “period of employment” or “period of self-employment” mean periods so defined or recognised by the legislation under which they were completed, and all periods treated as such, where they are regarded by that legislation as equivalent to periods of employment or to periods of self-employment;

• (dd) “period of insurance” means periods of contribution, employment or self-employment as defined or recognised as periods of insurance by the legislation under which they were completed or considered as completed, and all periods treated as such, where they are regarded by that legislation as equivalent to periods of insurance;

• (ee) “period of residence” means periods so defined or recognised by the legislation under which they were completed or considered as completed;

• (ff) “pension” covers not only pensions but also lump-sum benefits which can be substituted for them and payments in the form of reimbursement of contributions and, subject to the provisions of TitleIII, revaluation increases or supplementary allowances;

• (gg) “personal data” means any data concerning or relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;

• (hh) “refugee” has the meaning assigned to it in Article1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on28July1951;

• (ii) “registered office or place of business” means the registered office or place of business where the essential decisions of the undertaking are adopted and where the functions of its central administration are carried out;

• (jj) “residence”, except in Article 3, means the place where a person habitually resides;

• (kk) “special non-contributory cash benefits” means those non-contributory cash benefits which:

• (i) are intended to provide either:

(A) supplementary, substitute or ancillary cover against the risks covered by the branches of social security referred to in Article 6(1), and which guarantee the persons concerned a minimum subsistence income having regard to the economic and social situation in the State concerned; or

(B) solely specific protection for the disabled, closely linked to the said person’s social environment in the State concerned, and

• (ii) where the financing exclusively derives from compulsory taxation intended to cover general public expenditure and the conditions for providing and for calculating the benefits are not dependent on any contribution in respect of the beneficiary. However, benefits provided to supplement a contributory benefit shall not be considered to be contributory benefits for this reason alone;