REPORT - Income Support (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008
This Order makes certain provision concerning eligibility for income support and provides the mechanism for making claims for income support and special payments, for their determination and for appeals against determinations.
Part 1 and Article 1 contain interpretation provisions.
Part 2 is concerned with residence and membership of a household. Article 2 prescribes 5 years as the period of ordinary residence necessary for a person to be eligible for income support. This period must be continuous and must immediately precede the application for income support unless the person has been ordinarily resident in Jersey for a continuous period of at least 10 years. However, a person who has previously been ordinarily resident for a continuous period of 5 years but less than 10 years need only to be ordinary resident immediately prior to the application for a period equal to the total time he or she was not ordinarily resident in Jersey since the period of 5 years, less any time he or she was ordinarily residence in Jersey since the 5 years.
Article 3 treats persons currently resident outside Jersey who have their principal residence in Jersey as being ordinary resident here. However, under Article 4, persons serving a custodial sentence are not treated as ordinarily resident in Jersey (though the period of residence immediately prior to incarceration is treated as immediately preceding release) and detached workers (those employed by a non-resident employer and covered by another territory’s social security provisions) are also not treated as being ordinarily resident here for the period of that employment.
Under Article 5 people who are married or in a marriage-like relationship and parents and children are treated as being members of the same household. Adult children still in full-time education (unless impaired to a certain degree) are also treated as being in the household.
Part 3 deals with claims and payments. Article 6 sets out how to make a claim for income support and circumstances in which it may be backdated. The information to be included in the claim is set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1. Article 7 is about information and evidence to be provided in support of a claim and in the case of possible entitlement to the impairment component, the determining officer may require an assessment by a health care professional. Article 8 imposes a duty on adult members of a household to notify the Minister of a change of circumstances. Article 9 enables the appointment of another person to act on behalf of the claimant in the event of the claimant’s incapacity in the absence of any other formal arrangement.
Part 4, Article 10 and Schedule 2 are concerned with assessing the income of a household in respect of which income support is claimed.
Part 5 and Article 11 apply Articles 6, 7, and 9 to special payments. However the information to be included is that set out in Schedule 1, unless the person is part of a household receiving income support in which case it is that set out in Part 2 of that Schedule.
Part 6 covers determination of claims. Article 12 sets out the role of the determining officer in determining awards, notifying persons of the award and the reasons for the determination. In the case of a first determination the notification has to inform adult persons in the household of the right to have the matter redetermined within 21 days of the determination and the fact that if it is not exercised there is no further right of appeal. In the case of a second detetermination they have to be informed of their further rights of appeal. Article 13 deals with the right of person to have a matter reconsidered by a second determining officer.
Part 7 covers reviews and appeals. Article 14 sets out the procedure for appealing to a Medical Appeal Tribunal on medical grounds and Article 15 establishes the Tribunal and provides for the appointment and terms of service of its members. Article 16 is concerned with Tribunal procedure. Article 17 provides for appeals on non-medical grounds to go to the Social Security Tribunal and Article 18 provides for further appeals from either Tribunal to go to the Royal Court and for points of law to be referred to the Royal Court.
Part 8 and Article 19 name the Order and provide for it to come into force on 28th January 2008.