The Social Security (Adjudication) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996
These Regulations, which are consequential upon the coming into operation of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Jobseekers Order”) which, inter alia, replaces unemployment benefit and income support for the unemployed with a new benefit called jobseeker’s allowance, amend the Social Security (Adjudication) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 to make provision in relation to jobseeker’s allowance which is comparable to that in relation to income support. Also a new regulation 56B is inserted which provides that where a person is in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance and he or his partner wishes to claim income support instead, or vice versa, the adjudication officer may bring to an end the award of the claimant’s current benefit where he is satisfied that the claimant or his partner will be entitled to the other benefit. The regulation also provides that where a person claims jobseeker’s allowance under this procedure he will not have to serve the normal three “waiting days” before he becomes entitled to the allowance.