Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1998/1506
Year1998

1998 No. 1506 (N.I. 10)

NORTHERN IRELAND

The Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

Made 24th June 1998

Laid before Parliament 25th June 1998

Coming into operation in accordance with Article 1

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 24th day of June 1998

Present,

The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Whereas this Order is made only for purposes corresponding to those of the1Social Security Act 1998:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the2Northern Ireland Act 1974 (as modified by section 85 of the said Act of 1998) 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:—

1 INTRODUCTORY

PART I

INTRODUCTORY

Title and commencement
S-1 Title and commencement

Title and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Order shall come into operation on such day or days as the Department may by order appoint.

(3) The following provisions of this Order shall come into operation on the seventh day after the day on which this Order is made—

(a)

(a) this Article and Article 2;

(b)

(b) paragraph (1) of Article 47 (so far as relating to a sum which is chargeable to tax by virtue of section 313 of the3Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988), and paragraphs (2) to (4) of that Article;

(c)

(c) Articles 62, 65, 68 and 73 to 77;

(d)

(d) Schedule 5.

(4) An order under paragraph (2) may make such savings, or such transitional or consequential provision, as the Department considers necessary or expedient—

(a)

(a) in preparation for or in connection with the coming into operation of any provision of this Order; or

(b)

(b) in connection with the operation of any statutory provision repealed or amended by a provision of this Order during any period when the repeal or amendment is not wholly in operation.

Interpretation
S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) The 4Interpretation 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 Administration Act” means the5Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

“the Child Support Order” means the6Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

“the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the7Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

“the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Services;

“the Jobseekers Order” means the8Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations;

“the Recovery of Benefits Order” means the9Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997;

“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the10Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954;

“the Vaccine Damage Payments Act” means the11Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.

2 DECISIONS AND APPEALS

PART II

DECISIONS AND APPEALS

CHAPTER I

GENERAL

Decisions

Decisions

S-3 Transfer of functions to the Department

Transfer of functions to the Department

3. The following functions are hereby transferred to the Department, namely—

(a) the functions of adjudication officers appointed under section 36 of the Administration Act;

(b) the functions of social fund officers appointed under section 62 of that Act; and

(c) the functions of child support officers appointed under Article 15 of the Child Support Order.

S-4 Use of computers

Use of computers

4.—(1) Any decision, determination or assessment falling to be made or certificate falling to be issued by the Department under any relevant statutory provision may be made or issued not only by an officer of the Department acting under its authority but also—

(a)

(a) by a computer for whose operation such an officer is responsible; and

(b)

(b) in the case of a decision, determination or assessment that may be made or a certificate that may be issued by a person providing services to the Department, by a computer for whose operation such a person is responsible.

(2) In this Article “relevant statutory provision” means any statutory provision contained in—

(a)

(a) Chapter II of this Part;

(b)

(b) the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(c)

(c) the Administration Act;

(d)

(d) the Child Support Order;

(e)

(e) the12Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994;

(f)

(f) the13Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

(g)

(g) the Jobseekers Order; or

(h)

(h) the Recovery of Benefits Order.

Appeals

Appeals

S-5 Unified appeal tribunals

Unified appeal tribunals

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order—

(a)

(a) the functions of social security appeal tribunals, disability appeal tribunals and medical appeal tribunals constituted under Part II of the Administration Act;

(b)

(b) the functions of child support appeal tribunals established under Article 23 of the Child Support Order; and

(c)

(c) the functions of vaccine damage tribunals established by regulations made under section 4 of the Vaccine Damage Payments Act,

are hereby transferred to appeal tribunals constituted under the following provisions of this Chapter.

(2) Accordingly appeals under—

(a)

(a) Article 13;

(b)

(b) Article 22 of the Child Support Order, as substituted by Article 42;

(c)

(c) section 4 of the Vaccine Damage Payments Act, as substituted by section 46 of the14Social Security Act 1998; and

(d)

(d) Article 13 of the Recovery of Benefits Order,

shall be determined by appeal tribunals so constituted (in the following provisions of this Chapter referred to as “appeal tribunals”).

S-6 President of appeal tribunals

President of appeal tribunals

6.—(1) The Lord Chancellor may appoint for Northern Ireland a President of appeal tribunals.

(2) A person is qualified to be appointed President if he is a barrister or solicitor of at least 10 years' standing.

(3) Schedule 1 shall have effect for supplementing this Article.

S-7 Panel for appointment to appeal tribunals

Panel for appointment to appeal tribunals

7.—(1) The Lord Chancellor shall constitute for Northern Ireland a panel of persons to act as members of appeal tribunals.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the panel shall be composed of such persons as the Lord Chancellor thinks fit to appoint after consultation, in the case of medical practitioners, with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department.

(3) The panel shall include persons possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations made with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor.

(4) The numbers of persons appointed to the panel, and the terms and conditions of their appointments, shall be determined by the Lord Chancellor with the consent of the Department.

(5) A person may be removed from the panel by the Lord Chancellor on the ground of incapacity or misbehaviour.

S-8 Constitution of appeal tribunals

Constitution of appeal tribunals

8.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an appeal tribunal shall consist of one, two or three members drawn by the President from the panel constituted under Article 7.

(2) The member, or (as the case may be) at least one member, of an appeal tribunal shall be a barrister or solicitor.

(3) Where an appeal tribunal has more than one member—

(a)

(a) the President shall nominate one of the members as chairman;

(b)

(b) decisions shall be taken by a majority of votes; and

(c)

(c) unless regulations otherwise provide, the chairman shall have any casting vote.

(4) Where it appears to an appeal tribunal that a matter before it involves a question of fact of special difficulty, then, unless regulations otherwise provide, the tribunal may require one or more experts to provide assistance to it in dealing with the question.

(5) In paragraph (4) “expert” means a member of the panel constituted under Article 7 who appears to the appeal tribunal concerned to have knowledge or experience which would be relevant in determining the question of fact of special difficulty.

(6) Regulations shall make provision with respect to—

(a)

(a) the composition of appeal tribunals;

(b)

(b) the procedure to be followed in allocating cases among differently constituted tribunals; and

(c)

(c) the manner in which expert assistance is to be given under paragraph (4).

(7) Schedule 1 shall have effect for supplementing this Article.

CHAPTER II

SOCIAL SECURITY DECISIONS AND APPEALS

Decisions

Decisions

S-9 Decisions by the Department

Decisions by the Department

9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, it shall be for the Department—

(a)

(a) to decide any claim for a relevant benefit;

(b)

(b) to decide any claim for a social fund payment mentioned in section 134(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(c)

(c) subject to paragraph (5), to make any decision that falls to be made under any relevant statutory provision; and

(d)

(d) subject to and in accordance with regulations, to decide any issue arising as to, or in connection with, entitlement to statutory sick pay or statutory maternity pay.

(2) Where at any time a claim for a relevant benefit is decided by the Department—

(a)

(a) the claim shall not be regarded as subsisting after that time; and

(b)

(b) accordingly, the claimant shall not (without making a further claim) be entitled to the benefit on the basis of circumstances not obtaining at that time.

(3) In this Chapter “relevant benefit”, subject to Article 21(4), means any of the following, namely—

(a)

(a) benefit under Parts II to V of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(b)

(b) a jobseeker’s allowance;

(c)

(c) income support;

(d)

(d) family credit;

(e)

(e) disability working allowance;

(f)

(f) a social fund payment mentioned in section 134(1)(a) or (2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(g)

(g) child benefit;

(h)

(h) such other benefit as may be prescribed.

(4) In this Article “relevant statutory provision” means any statutory provision contained in...

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