Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance (Northern Ireland) Order 1991
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1991/1712 |
1991 No. 1712 (N.I. 17)
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance (Northern Ireland) Order 1991
Made 24th July 1991
Laid before Parliament 1st August 1991
Coming into operation in accordance with Article 1
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 24th day of July 1991
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas this Order is made only for purposes corresponding to those of the1Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Act 1991:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the 1974 c. 28Northern Ireland Act 1974 (as modified by section 13 of the said Act of 1991) and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Introductory
Title, citation and commencement
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and it shall be included among the statutory provisions which may be cited together as the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Acts 1975 to 1991.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Order shall come into operation on such day or days as the Head of the Department may by order appoint.
(3) This Article, Article 2 and Article 14 shall come into operation on the twenty–first day after the day on which this Order is made.
(4) An order under paragraph (2) may also appoint a day for the coming into operation of any provision of an order made under section 38(2) of the2Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 as necessary or expedient in consequence of this Order which appears to the Head of the Department to be consequential on any provision of this Order brought into operation by the order.
Interpretation
2.—(1) The 3Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) In this Order—
“the Attendance Allowance Board” means the Attendance Allowance Board for Northern Ireland;
“the Board” means the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board for Northern Ireland;
“the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Services;
“the 1986 Order” means the4Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;
“the Pensions Order” means the5Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975;
“the principal Act” means the6Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975;
“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section l(f) of the 7Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.
Disability living allowance
Introduction of disability living allowance
3.—(1) After subsection (1)(c) of section 34 (descriptions of non–contributory benefits) of the principal Act there shall be inserted the following paragraph—
“(ca)
“(ca) disability living allowance;”.
(2) After section 37 of the principal Act there shall be inserted the following sections—
“Disability living allowance.
37ZA.—(1) Disability living allowance shall consist of a care component and a mobility component.
(2) A person’s entitlement to a disability living allowance may be an entitlement to either component or to both of them.
(3) A person may be awarded either component for a fixed period or for life, but if his award of a disability living allowance consists of both components, he may not be awarded the components for different fixed periods.
(4) The weekly rate of a person’s disability living allowance for a week for which he has only been awarded one component is the appropriate weekly rate for that component as determined in accordance with this Act or regulations under it.
(5) The weekly rate of a person’s disability living allowance for a week for which he has been awarded both components is the aggregate of the appropriate weekly rates for the two components as so determined.
(6) A person shall not be entitled to a disability living allowance unless he satisfies prescribed conditions as to residence and presence in Northern Ireland.
The care component.
37ZB.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to the care component of a disability living allowance for any period throughout which—
(a)
(a) he is so severely disabled physically or mentally that—
(i) he requires in connection with his bodily functions attention from another person for a significant portion of the day (whether during a single period or a number of periods), or
(ii) he cannot prepare a cooked main meal for himself if he has the ingredients; or
(b)
(b) he is so severely disabled physically or mentally that, by day, he requires from another person—
(i) frequent attention throughout the day in connection with his bodily functions, or
(ii) continual supervision throughout the day in order to avoid substantial danger to himself or others; or
(c)
(c) he is so severely disabled physically or mentally that, at night,—
(i) he requires from another person prolonged or repeated attention in connection with his bodily functions, or
(ii) in order to avoid substantial danger to himself or others he requires another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals for the purpose of watching over him.
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a person shall not be entitled to the care component of a disability living allowance unless—
(a)
(a) throughout-
(i) the period of 3 months immediately preceding the date on which the award of that component would begin, or
(ii) such other period of 3 months as may be prescribed,
he has satisfied or is likely to satisfy one or other ofthe conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c) above; and
(b)
(b) he is likely to continue to satisfy one or other of those conditions throughout—
(i) a period of 6 months beginning with that date, or
(ii) (if his death is expected within the period of 6 months beginning with that date) the period so beginning and ending with his death.
(3)
(3) Three weekly rates of the care component shall be prescribed.
(4) The weekly rate of the care component payable to a person for each week in the period for which he is awarded that component shall be—
(a)
(a) the highest rate, if he falls within subsection (2) above by virtue of having satisfied or being likely to satisfy both the conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) and (c) above throughout both the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above and that mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection;
(b)
(b) the middle rate, if he falls within that subsection by virtue of having satisfied or being likely to satisfy one or other of those conditions throughout both those periods; and
(c)
(c) the lowest rate in any other case.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a person who is terminally ill, as defined in section 35(2C) above, and makes a claim expressly on the ground that he is such a person, shall be taken—
(a)
(a) to have satisfied the conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) and (c) above for the period of 3 months immediately preceding the date of the claim, or, if later, the first date on which he is terminally ill (so however that the care component shall not be payable by virtue of this paragraph for any period preceding that date); and
(b)
(b) to satisfy or to be likely to satisfy those conditions for the remainder of his life beginning with that date.
(6) For the purposes of this section in its application to a person for any period in which he is under the age of 16—
(a)
(a) sub-paragraph (ii) of subsection (1)(a) above shall be omitted; and
(b)
(b) neither the condition mentioned in sub–paragraph (i) of subsection (1)(a) above nor any of the conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) and (c) above shall be taken to be satisfied unless—
(i) he has requirements of a description mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) above substantially in excess of the normal requirements of persons of his age, or
(ii) he has substantial requirements of any such description which younger persons in normal physical and mental health may also have but which persons of his age and in normal physical and mental health would not have.
(7) Subject to subsections (5) and (6) above, circumstances may be prescribed in which a person is to be taken to satisfy or not to satisfy such of the conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c) above as may be prescribed.
(8) Regulations may provide that a person shall not be paid any amount in respect of a disability living allowance which is attributable to entitlement to the care component for a period when he is a person for whom accommodation is provided—
(a)
(a) in pursuance of Article 5, 7, 15 or 36 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972; or
(b)
(b) in circumstances in which the cost is, or may be, borne wholly or partly out of public or local funds, in pursuance of those enactments or of any other enactment relating to persons under disability or to young persons or to education or training.
The mobility component.
37ZC.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to the mobility component of a disability living allowance for any period in which he is over the age of 5 and throughout which—
(a)
(a) he is suffering from physical disablement such that he is either unable to walk or virtually unable to do so; or
(b)
(b) he falls within subsection (2) below; or
(c)
(c) he falls within subsection (3) below; or
(d)
(d) he is able to walk but is so severely disabled physically or mentally that, disregarding any ability he may have to use routes which are familiar to him on his own, he cannot take advantage of the faculty out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person most of the time.
(2)...
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