
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Residential Care Homes, Nursing Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 14th November 2005.
(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
2 
In regulation 2(1A) of the Social Fund (Maternity and Funeral Expenses) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (interpretation)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (a) for “residential accommodation, residential care home or nursing home” there shall be substituted “residential care home, nursing home, Abbeyfield Home or independent hospital”, and
(b) in sub-paragraph (b) and at the end of paragraph (1A) for “accommodation or home” there shall be substituted “home or hospital”.
3 
The Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 shall be amended in accordance with Schedule 1.
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(1) The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) Regulation 34B (transitional provisions for persons in hostels or certain residential accommodation) shall be omitted.
(3) In Schedule 8A (deductions from benefits and direct payment to third parties)—
(a) in paragraph 1 (interpretation) for the definition of “hostel” there shall be substituted the following definition—“
 “hostel” means an establishment—
(a) in which there is provided for persons generally, or for a class of persons, accommodation, otherwise than in separate and self-contained premises, and either board or facilities of a kind set out in paragraph 4A(1)(d) adequate to the needs of those persons; and—
(b) which is—
(i) managed by or owned by a housing association registered with the Department of the Environment in accordance with Article 124 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;
(ii) operated other than on a commercial basis and in respect of which funds are provided wholly or in part by a government department or public body, or
(iii) managed by a voluntary organisation or charity and provides care, support or supervision with a view to assisting those persons to be rehabilitated or resettled within the community;
(c) which is not—
(i) a residential care home;
(ii) a nursing home;
(iii) an independent hospital, or
(iv) an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society;
(d) in sub-paragraph (b)(iii) a “voluntary organisation” means any association carrying on any activities otherwise than for the purpose of gain by the association or by individual members thereof, but shall not include any public body;
(e) in sub-paragraph (c)—
(i) “independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
(ii) “nursing home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 11 of that Order;
(iii) “residential care home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 10 of that Order;”;
(b) in paragraph 4 (miscellaneous accommodation costs)—
(i) in sub-paragraph (1)—(aa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(bb) in head (b) sub-heads (i) and (ii) shall be omitted;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (2) for head (a) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(a) in a case where a beneficiary is not in accommodation as specified in regulation 15(7)(c) of the State Pension Credit Regulations, an amount equal to the award of income support, jobseeker’s allowance, or guarantee credit payable to the claimant but excluding an amount, if any, which when added to any other income of the beneficiary as determined in accordance with regulation 28 of the Income Support Regulations, regulation 93 of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations or regulation 17 of the State Pension Credit Regulations will equal the amount prescribed in respect of personal expenses in sub-paragraph (2A), and”.
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The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 shall be amended in accordance with Schedule 3.
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(1) The Social Security (Loss of Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) In regulation 5(4) (meaning of “person in hardship”) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
(3) In regulation 11(5) (application of Part and meaning of “couple in hardship”) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
12 
The State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 shall be amended in accordance with Schedule 4.
13 
The regulations specified in column (1) of Schedule 5 are revoked to the extent mentioned in column (3).
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 20th October 2005.
John O'Neill
A senior officer of the
Department for Social Development
The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to regulation 4 and Schedule 2 of the foregoing Regulations.Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 20th October 2005.
Jack Layberry
A senior officer of the
Department of Finance and Personnel

SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 3
1 
In regulation 2 (interpretation)—
(a) in paragraph (1)—
(i) after the definition of “the Registered Homes Order” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “Abbeyfield Home” means an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society;”;
(ii) after the definition of “housing benefit expenditure” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;”;
(iii) for the definition of “nursing home” there shall be substituted the following definition—“
 “nursing home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 11 of that Order;”;
(iv) the definition of “residential accommodation” shall be omitted, and
(v) for the definition of “residential care home” there shall be substituted the following definition—“
 “residential care home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 10 of that Order;”.
(b) in paragraph (1A) for the words from “or a nursing home” to “reside in that home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, Abbeyfield home or an independent hospital and he is temporarily absent from that home or hospital, he shall be regarded as continuing to reside in that home or hospital”.
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3 
In regulation 16 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household)—
(a) in paragraph (3)(e) for “in residential accommodation, a residential care home or a nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”;
(b) in paragraph (5)(b) the words from “provided under” to “in regulation 21(3)” shall be omitted;
(c) in paragraph (8) before the definition of “an authority” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “accommodation” means accommodation provided or arranged by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety under Article 15 or 36 of the 1972 Order in a home owned or managed by a Health and Social Services Board or an HSS trust where the accommodation is provided for a person whose stay in that accommodation has become other than temporary;”.
4 
In regulation 17(4)(a) (applicable amounts) for head (iii) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(iii) in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital,”.
5 
In regulation 21 (special cases)—
(a) in paragraph (3) the definition of “residential accommodation” shall be omitted, and
(b) paragraphs (3A) to (3C) and (4) to (4B) shall be omitted.
6 
In regulation 42 (notional income) for paragraph (4A) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—“
(4A) Where the claimant resides in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital, or is temporarily absent from such a home or hospital, any payment made by a person other than the claimant or a member of his family in respect of some or all of the cost of maintaining the claimant or his partner in that home or hospital shall be treated as possessed by the claimant or his partner.”.
7 
In regulation 53 (calculation of tariff income from capital)—
(a) in paragraph (1B)—
(i) for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraphs—“
(a) a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital;
(b) an Abbeyfield Home;”;
(ii) sub-paragraph (c) shall be omitted.
(b) in paragraph (1C) for “accommodation” in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “hospital”;
(c) paragraph (4) shall be omitted.
8 
In Schedule 3 (housing costs)—
(a) in paragraph 3(13) (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home) for head (c) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(c) “residential accommodation” means accommodation which is a residential care home, a nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home, or an independent hospital;”;
(b) in paragraph 4(1) (housing costs not met), in head (b) for “in accommodation which is a residential care home or a nursing home except where he is in such accommodation” there shall be substituted “living in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital except where he is living in such a home or hospital”.
9 
In Schedule 3A (protected sum), in paragraph 7 (protected persons), for sub-paragraph (4) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(4) Paragraph 6(b) shall not apply to a protected person if—
(a) he moves to accommodation where he—
(i) satisfies condition (i) or (iii) of sub-paragraph (1)(b);
(ii) is receiving both board and personal care other than in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital;
(b) he becomes a patient within the meaning of regulation 21(3);
(c) on his ceasing to be a patient within the meaning of regulation 21(3) either—
(i) he returns to the accommodation which he occupied immediately before he became a patient, or
(ii) he moves to other accommodation where he—(aa) satisfies condition (i) or (iii) of sub-paragraph (1)(b), or(bb) is receiving both board and personal care other than in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital, or
(d) in a case to which sub-paragraph (6) applies, on his becoming re-entitled to income support, he is in—
(i) the accommodation which he occupied immediately before he ceased to be entitled to income support, or
(ii) accommodation where he—(aa) satisfies condition (i) or (iii) of sub-paragraph (1)(b), or(bb) is receiving both board and personal care other than in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital.”.
10 
In Schedule 7 (applicable amounts in special cases)—
(a) in paragraph 9 (specified cases of temporarily separated couples) at column (1)—
(i) in sub-paragraph (a) for heads (i) and (ii) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(i) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital, or”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) for heads (iii) and (iv) there shall be substituted the following head—“or,
(iii) residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital.”;
(b) in paragraph 10 (polygamous marriages where one or more partners are temporarily separated) at column (1) for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(a) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital;”.
11 
In Schedule 8 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings), in paragraph 4(2), 4(3)(a)(ii) and 4(4)(a) “or in residential accommodation” shall be omitted.
12 
In Schedule 9 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) in paragraph 30A—
(i) in sub-paragraph (1) for “in a residential care home or nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital” and after “in that home” there shall be added “or hospital”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (2) for “or nursing home is provided by the Department” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital is provided by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety”;
(c) in paragraph 62 for “in a residential care or nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
13 
In Schedule 10 (capital to be disregarded), in paragraph 59(5) for “being in residential accommodation, a residential care home or a nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 4
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SCHEDULE 3
Regulation 9
1 
In regulation 1 (citation, commencement and interpretation)—
(a) in paragraph (2)—
(i) after the definition of “the 1998 Order” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “Abbeyfield Home” means an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society;”;
(ii) after the definition of “the Income Support Regulations” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;”;
(iii) for the definition of “nursing home” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “nursing home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 11 of that Order;”;
(iv) the definition of “residential accommodation” shall be omitted, and
(v) for the definition of “residential care home” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “residential care home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 by virtue of Article 10 of that Order;”.
(b) in paragraph (2F) for the words from “or a nursing home” to “reside in that home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital and he is temporarily absent from that home or hospital, he shall be regarded as continuing to reside in that home or hospital”.
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3 
In regulation 78 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household)—
(a) in paragraph (3)(d) for “in residential accommodation or a residential care home or a nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”;
(b) in paragraph (5)(c) the words from “provided under” to “in regulation 85(4)” shall be omitted;
(c) in paragraph (9) before the definition of “an authority” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “accommodation” means accommodation provided or arranged by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety under Article 15 or 36 of the 1972 Order in a home owned or managed by a Health and Social Services Board or an HSS trust where the accommodation is provided for a person whose stay in that accommodation has become other than temporary;”.
4 
In regulation 85 (special cases)—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) in paragraph (4) the definition of “residential accommodation” shall be omitted, and
(c) paragraphs (5) and (6) shall be omitted.
5 
In regulation 105 (notional income), for paragraph (11) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—“
(11) Where the claimant resides in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital, or is temporarily absent from such a home or hospital, any payment made by a person other than the claimant or a member of his family in respect of some or all of the cost of maintaining the claimant or his partner in that home or hospital shall be treated as possessed by the claimant or his partner.”.
6 
In regulation 116 (calculation of tariff income from capital)—
(a) in paragraph (1B)—
(i) for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraphs—“
(a) a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital;
(b) an Abbeyfield Home.”;
(ii) sub-paragraph (c) shall be omitted;
(b) in paragraph (1C) for “accommodation” in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “hospital”;
(c) paragraph (4) shall be omitted.
7 
In regulation 140 (meaning of “person in hardship”), in paragraph (4) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
8 
In regulation 146A (meaning of “couple in hardship”), in paragraph (4) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
9 
In Schedule 2 (housing costs)—
(a) in paragraph 3(13) (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home) for head (c) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(c) “residential accommodation” means accommodation which is a residential care home, a nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home, or an independent hospital;”;
(b) in paragraph 4(1) (housing costs not met), in head (b) for “in accommodation which is a residential care home or a nursing home except where he is in such accommodation” there shall be substituted “living in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital except where he is living in such a home or hospital”.
10 
In Schedule 4 (applicable amounts in special cases)—
(a) in paragraph 5 (specified cases of temporarily separated couples) at column (1)—
(i) in sub-paragraph (a) for heads (i) and (ii) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(i) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital, or”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) for heads (iii) and (iv) there shall be substituted the following head—“or
(iii) residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital.”;
(b) in paragraph 6 (polygamous marriages where one or more partners are temporarily separated) at column (1) for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(a) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital;”.
11 
In Schedule 4A (applicable amounts of joint-claim couples in special cases)—
(a) in paragraph 4 (specified cases of temporarily separated joint-claim couples) at column (1)—
(i) in sub-paragraph (a) for heads (i) and (ii) there shall be substituted the following head—“
(i) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital, or”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) for heads (iii) and (iv) there shall be substituted the following head—“or
(iii) residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital.”;
(b) in paragraph 5 (polygamous marriages where one or more members are temporarily separated) at column (1) for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(a) not a patient but is residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital;”.
12 
In Schedule 5 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings), in paragraph 5(2), 5(3)(a)(ii) and 5(4)(a) “or in residential accommodation” shall be omitted.
13 
In Schedule 5A (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings of members of joint-claim couples), in paragraph 1(2), 1(3)(a)(ii) and 1(4)(a) “or in residential accommodation” shall be omitted.
14 
In Schedule 6 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) in paragraph 32—
(i) in sub-paragraph (1) for “in a residential care home or nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital” and after “in that home” there shall be added “or hospital”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (2) for “or nursing home is provided by the Department” there shall be substituted “, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital is provided by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety”;
(c) in paragraph 60 for “in a residential care or nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
15 
In Schedule 7 (capital to be disregarded) in paragraph 52(5) for “being in residential accommodation, a residential care home or a nursing home” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home, an Abbeyfield Home or an independent hospital”.
SCHEDULE 4
Regulation 12
1 
In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation), after the definition of “the Income Support Regulations” there shall be inserted the following definition—“
 “independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;”.
2 
In regulation 5(1) (persons treated as being or not being members of the same household), in sub-paragraph (b) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home or an independent hospital”.
3 
In regulation 12(c) (end of assessed income period) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home or an independent hospital”.
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5 
In Schedule 2 (housing costs)—
(a) in paragraph 4 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home)—
(i) in sub-paragraph (7), in head (c)(iii) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home or an independent hospital”;
(ii) for sub-paragraph (8) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“
(8) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who enters a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital—
(a) for the purpose of ascertaining whether that residential care home, nursing home or independent hospital suits his needs, and
(b) with the intention of returning to the dwelling which he normally occupies as his home should, in the event that, the residential care home, nursing home or independent hospital prove not to suit his needs,
and while in the residential care home, nursing home or independent hospital, the part of the dwelling which he normally occupies as his home is not let, or as the case may be, sub-let to another person.”.
(iii) in sub-paragraph (9) for “accommodation” in both places where it occurs, there shall be substituted “residential care home, nursing home or independent hospital”;
(iv) in sub-paragraph (11), in head (c)(iii), (c)(vii) and (c)(ix) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home or an independent hospital”;
(b) in paragraph 5(1), in head (b) for “or nursing home” there shall be substituted “, nursing home or an independent hospital”.
6 
In Schedule 5 (capital disregarded for the purpose of calculating income), in paragraph 13(5) for “being in a residential care home or nursing home.” there shall be substituted “residing in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital.”.
SCHEDULE 5
Regulation 13


Column (1) Column (2) Column (3)
Citation Reference Extent of revocation
The Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989 S.R. 1989 No. 398 Regulation 5
The Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 S.R. 1991 No. 488 Regulation 6(7)(a)(ii)
The Social Security Benefits (Amendments Consequential Upon the Introduction of Community Care) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 S.R. 1993 No. 149 Paragraph 3 of Schedule 2
The Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amounts for Persons in Residential Care and Nursing Homes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 S.R. 2001 No. 227 The whole of the Regulations
The Social Security (Amendment) (Residential Care and Nursing Homes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 S.R. 2002 No. 132 Regulation 3(2)
The State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 S.R. 2003 No. 191 Regulation 13