Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003

Assessment of means — amendments.

8.—(1) The Third Schedule to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in Part I—

(i) in Rule 1(2) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997)—

(I) by inserting “and such non-cash benefits as may be prescribed,” after “household or otherwise,”, and

(II) by inserting the following after subparagraph (s) (as amended by section 21 of the Act of 2000):

“(ss) any moneys received by way of maintenance payments (including maintenance payments made to or in respect of a qualified child) in so far as those payments do not exceed the annual housing costs actually incurred by the person subject to the maximum amount that may be prescribed, together with one-half of any amount of maintenance payment in excess of the amount disregarded in respect of housing costs actually incurred (if any) and for the purpose of this subparagraph—

‘housing costs’ means rent or repayment of a loan entered into solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase, repair or essential improvement of the residence in which the person is, for the time being, residing;

‘maintenance payment’ means any payment received under or pursuant to any maintenance arrangement that may be prescribed,”,

and

(ii) by substituting the following for Rule 1(5) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997):

“(5) other than in the case of disability allowance and persons who have attained the age that may be prescribed, the yearly value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by that person by virtue of residing with a parent or step-parent, and the Minister may prescribe by regulations the manner in which the value of such benefit and privilege may be calculated.”,

(b) in Part II, in Rule 1(4), by substituting the following for paragraph (s):

“(s) for the purposes of old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and one-parent family payment, moneys received by way of maintenance payments (including maintenance payments made to or in respect of a qualified child) in so far as they do not exceed the annual housing costs actually incurred by the person subject to such maximum amount as may be prescribed, together with one-half of any amount of maintenance payment in excess of the amount disregarded in respect of housing costs actually incurred (if any) and for the purpose of this subparagraph—

‘housing costs’ means rent or repayment of a loan entered into solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase, repair or essential improvement of the residence in which the person is, for the time being, residing;

‘maintenance payments’ means any payment received under or pursuant to such maintenance arrangement as may be prescribed,”,

(c) in Part III, in Rule 1(1) (as amended by section 13 of the Act of 2001), by inserting “and such non-cash benefits as may be prescribed” after “personal exertions”, and

(d) in Part IV, in Rule 1(3) (as amended by section 13 of the Act of 2001), by—

(i) inserting “and such non-cash benefits as may be prescribed,” after “household or otherwise,”, and

(ii) inserting the following after subparagraph (q):

“(qq) any moneys received by way of maintenance payments (including maintenance payments made to or in respect of a qualified child) in so far as those payments do not exceed the annual housing costs actually incurred by the person subject to the maximum amount that may be prescribed, together with one-half of any amount of maintenance payment in excess of the amount disregarded in respect of housing costs actually incurred (if any) and for the purpose of this subparagraph—

‘housing costs’ means rent or repayment of a loan entered into solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase, repair or essential improvement of the residence in which the person is, for the time being, residing;

‘maintenance payment’ means any payment received under or pursuant to any maintenance arrangement that may be prescribed,”.

(2)  (a)  Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the amendments effected by paragraphs (a)(i)(II), (b) and (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a person who is entitled to or is in receipt of any payment to which those paragraphs refer immediately before the coming into operation of this subsection in relation to that payment, where those amendments have the effect of increasing the means assessed in respect of that person under the Third Schedule to the Principal Act.

(b) Where, after the coming into operation of the amendments referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, a person referred to in that paragraph has not been entitled to or has not been in receipt of any payments to which those amendments refer for a period of more than 52 consecutive weeks after the said coming into operation, then the said paragraph shall cease to apply to that person.

(3) This section, other than paragraphs (a)(i)(I), (c) and (d)(i), comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, on 30 April 2003,

(b) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 7 May 2003, and

(c) in so far as it relates to old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's and widower's (non-contributory) pension, and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on 9 May 2003.