
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 4th November 1996.
(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988.
(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
2 
In regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations (interpretation)—
(a) in the definition of “forecast” after “on a daily basis” there shall be inserted “from and including 1st November in any year up to 31st March in the following year,”;
(b) after the definition of “home” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “an income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 by virtue of Article 3(4) of that Order;”, and
(c) for the definition of “station” there shall be substituted the following definition—“
 “station” means a station accredited by the Meteorological Office at which a period of cold weather may be forecasted or recorded for the purposes of these Regulations;”.
3 
In regulation 1A of the principal Regulations (prescribed description of persons)—
(a) after “income support” there shall be inserted “or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance”, and
(b) after paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—“(aa) whose applicable amount includes one or more of the premiums specified in paragraphs 10 to 16 of Part III of Schedule 1 to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 but does not include the allowance specified in paragraph 3 of that Schedule (residential allowances); or”.
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(1) Regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations (prescribed circumstances) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) In sub-paragraph (a)—
(a) in head (i), the words from “or, if that station” to “for that period” shall be omitted;
(b) in head (ii) for “and” there shall be substituted “or”, and
(c) after head (ii) there shall be inserted the following head—“
(iii) if a station referred to in (i) or (ii) (“the primary station”) is unable to provide temperature information for the period in question, there is, as the case may be, a recorded period of cold weather or a forecasted period of cold weather at the nearest such station to the primary station able to provide temperature information for that period, and”.
(3) For sub-paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(b) the home of the claimant is, or by virtue of paragraph (2)(b) is treated as, situated within a Post Office postcode area or part of such an area in respect of which the station mentioned in sub-paragraph (a)(i) or, as the case may be, (a)(ii) is the designated station.”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on 14th October 1996.
John O'Neill
Assistant Secretary
