Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1996 No. 85

SOCIAL SECURITY; STATUTORY SICK PAY
The Social Security (Claims and Payments Etc.) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Made
8th March 1996

Coming into operation
4th April 1996

The Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 5(1)(j) and (4) and 77(1) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Claims and Payments Etc.) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 4th April 1996.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(2) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations

2.—(1) The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(3) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

(2) In regulation 20A(4) (payment on presentation of an instrument for benefit payment)—

(a)for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(2) Where a beneficiary falls within a class mentioned in paragraph (1) the Department shall issue an instrument for benefit payment to whichever one or more of the following persons seems to it to be appropriate in the circumstances of the case—

(a)that beneficiary;

(b)the controller appointed by the High Court with power to receive benefit on behalf of that beneficiary;

(c)the person appointed by the Department under regulation 33 to act on behalf of that beneficiary;

(d)subject to paragraph (4A), the person authorised by that beneficiary to act on his behalf;

(e)the person to whom benefit is to be paid on that beneficiary’s behalf further to a direction by the Department under regulation 34; and

(f)the alternative payee under regulation 35.”;

(b)in paragraph (4)(b) at the beginning there shall be inserted “subject to paragraph (4A),”;

(c)after paragraph (4) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(4A) A person authorised by the beneficiary to act on his behalf under paragraph (2)(d) must be so authorised in respect of all benefits, payment of which may be obtained by means of that instrument for benefit payment.”; and

(d)after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(5A) Where a person presents an instrument for benefit payment for the purpose of obtaining payment of any benefit to which—

(a)he is entitled in his own right;

(b)he, being a person such as is mentioned in paragraph (2)(b), (c), (d) or (e), as the case may be, is entitled to receive on the beneficiary’s behalf; or

(c)he is entitled to receive by virtue of regulation 35 (payment to a partner as alternative payee),

the Department may require that person to accept payment of all monies then due in respect of such benefits, payment of which may be obtained by means of that instrument.”.

(3) In regulation 21 (direct credit transfer)—

(a)in paragraph (1) the words “to which this regulation applies”; and

(b)paragraph (6),

shall be omitted.

(4) For regulation 29 (payment to a person under age 18) there shall be substituted the following regulation—

“Payments to persons under age 18

29.  Where benefit is paid to a person under the age of 18 (whether on his own behalf or on behalf of another) the receipt of that person shall be a sufficient discharge to the Department.”.

(5) In regulation 37(1) (extinguishment of right to payment of sums by way of benefit where payment is not obtained within the prescribed period)—

(a)after sub-paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—

“(aa)in relation to any such sum which is payable by means of an instrument for benefit payment, on the first date when payment of that benefit could be obtained by that means;”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (c) for “neither sub-paragraph (a) nor sub-paragraph (b) applies” there shall be substituted “none of sub-paragraphs (a), (aa) or (b) apply”.

(6) In Schedule 7 (manner and time of payment, effective date of change of circumstances and commencement of entitlement in income support cases), in paragraph 1 after “instrument of payment” there shall be inserted “or an instrument for benefit payment”.

Amendment of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations

3.  In regulation 9C of the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982(5) (payments by the Department) after “instrument of payment” there shall be inserted “, instrument for benefit payment”.

Amendment of the Social Security (Recoupment) Regulations

4.  In regulation 2 of the Social Security (Recoupment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990(6) (relevant benefits)—

(a)in paragraph (2) after “instrument of payment” there shall be inserted “or paid concurrently with it by means of an instrument for benefit payment”; and

(b)in paragraph (3) for “instrument of payment” there shall be substituted “instrument for benefit payment”.

Revocations

5.  Regulation 3(5) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(7) and regulation 2(9) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994(8) are hereby revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on

L.S.
W. G. Purdy
Assistant Secretary
8th March 1996.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982 and the Social Security (Recoupment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 to make further provision for the payment of benefit by means of a benefit payment card described as an instrument for benefit payment. In particular provision is made for the circumstances in which persons may use the benefit payment card to collect benefit on the beneficiary’s behalf (regulation 2(2)(a) and (c)) and in which they or the beneficiary may be required to accept payment by this means of all the benefits then due (regulation 2(2)(d)).
The Regulations also contain consequential revocations.
These Regulations correspond to provision contained in regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security 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.


(1)
1992 c. 8

(2)
1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(3)
S.R. 1987 No. 465; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1989 No. 398, S.R. 1992 No. 83, S.R. 1993 No. 375 and S.R. 1994 Nos. 345, 456 and 484

(4)
Regulation 20A was inserted by regulation 2(4) of S.R. 1994 No. 484

(5)
S.R. 1982 No. 263; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1987 No. 131

(6)
S.R. 1990 No. 85

(7)
S.R. 1993 No. 375

(8)
S.R. 1994 No. 456