Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Emergency Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 and shall come into operation on 3rd March 2025.

Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme

2.  The Department for Communities makes the Scheme set out in the Schedules.

Regulation 2

SCHEDULE 1 Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2025

Citation and interpretation

1.—(1) This Scheme may be cited as the Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2025.

(2) In this Scheme:—

“ couple” means—

“ Emergency Fuel Payment” means a payment made under Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to this Scheme;

“ free in-patient treatment” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 2(4) and (5) of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005( 4);

“ independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2( 5) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;

“ nursing home” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 11 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003( 6);

“ pensionable age” has the meaning given by the rules in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995( 7);

“ polygamous marriage” means any marriage which took place under the laws of a country which permits polygamy where—

“ qualifying week” means in respect of the week from 16th to 22nd September 2024;

“ residential care” means, disregarding any period of temporary absence, a person residing in—

“ Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment” means a payment made under regulation 2 of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024( 9);

“ social security information” means information held by or on behalf of the Department and obtained as a result of, or for the purpose of, the exercise of the Department’s functions in relation to social security;

“ withdrawal agreement”, “ EEA EFTA separation agreement” and “ Swiss citizens’ rights agreement” have the same meanings as in section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020( 10).

Eligibility

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph 4 the Department must pay an Emergency Fuel Payment to a person where—

(a) that person has reached pensionable age in or before the qualifying week; and

(b) in respect of any day falling within the qualifying week, sub-paragraph (2) or (3) applies to the person.

(2) This sub-paragraph applies if the person is—

(a) ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, and

(b) not entitled to a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment.

(3) This sub-paragraph applies if the person is—

(a) habitually resident in any of the countries listed in Schedule 2;

(b) covered by—

(i) Title III of Part 2 of the withdrawal agreement, as set out at Article 30 of that agreement( 11);

(ii) Title III of Part 2 of the EEA EFTA separation agreement, as set out at Article 29 of that agreement( 12);

(iii) Part Three of the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement, as set out at Article 25 of that agreement( 13); or

(iv) the Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland signed at Dublin on 1st February 2019, as set out in Article 2 of that Convention( 14); and

(c) able to demonstrate a genuine and sufficient link to the United Kingdom.

(4) Only one Emergency Fuel Payment shall be payable under this Scheme in respect of any person.

Amount of Emergency Fuel Payment

3.  The amount of an Emergency Fuel Payment is as follows—

(a) if the person is the only member of the household eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment as set out in paragraph 2 of this Schedule, £100;

(b) if the person during the qualifying week is living with a person to whom an Emergency Fuel Payment has been, or falls to be, made in respect of the winter following the qualifying week, £50;

(c) if the person is living in residential care throughout the qualifying week, and for the period of 12 weeks immediately before the qualifying week, £50; or

(d) if the person is living in residential care throughout the qualifying week, and for a period of less than 12 weeks immediately before the qualifying week, £100.

Persons not entitled to an Emergency Fuel Payment

4.—(1) Paragraph 2 of this Schedule does not apply in respect of a person who—

(a) throughout the qualifying week, is—

(i) one member of a couple where the Department has paid a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment in respect of the qualifying week to the other member of that couple;

(ii) a member of a polygamous marriage where the Department has paid a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment in respect of the qualifying week to another member of that marriage;

(iii) receiving free in-patient treatment and has been receiving free in-patient treatment for a period of at least 52 weeks ending immediately before the qualifying week; or

(iv) detained in custody under a sentence imposed by a court.

(b) having been ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on a day falling within the qualifying week, becomes ordinarily resident in England and Wales or Scotland by the last day of that week; or

(c) has not made an application for a delayed Emergency Fuel Payment under paragraph 6 on or before 11th April following the qualifying week in respect of the winter following that week.

Recovery

5.  The Department may recover any payment made in error.

Delayed payment

6.—(1) A person who is eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment, and has not received it by 11th April 2025, may apply for a payment.

(2) An application under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) be made in writing to the Department or by telephone to the relevant telephone numbers published on the NI Direct website;

(b) be received by the Department by 30th June 2025; and

(c) specify the applicant’s name, address, date of birth and national insurance number.

(3) If the Department is satisfied that a person making an application under sub-paragraph (1) is eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment and has not already received such a payment, the Department shall make that payment.

Appeals

7.  There will be no right of appeal.

Payment to be disregarded for social security

8.  The Emergency Fuel Payment shall be disregarded for social security benefits purposes.

Information

9.  The Department may use social security information for the purpose of determining whether a person is eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment.

Regulation 2

SCHEDULE 2 Countries

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for payments (“Emergency Fuel Payments”) to be made to eligible persons under the Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2025.

Regulation 2 provides that the Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2025 is set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.

Schedule 1

Paragraph 2 provides that to be eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment, a person must have—

• reached pensionable age in or before the qualifying week;

• be ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland;

• and is not entitled to a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment in respect of winter 2024/25.

Paragraph 3 provides for the amount of Emergency Fuel Payment to be paid by the Department to eligible persons.

Paragraph 4 provides that a person who has reached pensionable age in or before the qualifying week is not eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment if they are—

• one member of a couple where the Department has paid a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment in respect of the qualifying week to the other member of that couple;

• a member of a polygamous marriage where the Department has paid a Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment in respect of the qualifying week to another member of that marriage;

• receiving free in-patient treatment and has been receiving free in-patient treatment for a period of at least 52 weeks ending immediately before the qualifying week; or

• detained in custody under a sentence imposed by a court.

Paragraph 5 provides that the Department may recover any payment made in error.

Paragraph 6 provides that persons who are eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment but do not receive it by 11th April 2025 may apply for the payment from the Department for Communities by 30th June 2025. If the Department is satisfied that the applicant was eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment during the qualifying week, the Department shall make the payment.

Paragraph 7 provides that there is no right of appeal.

Paragraph 8 provides that an Emergency Fuel Payment may be disregarded for social security benefits purposes.

Paragraph 9 provides that the Department for Communities may use social security information for the purpose of determining eligibility for an Emergency Fuel Payment.

Schedule 2

The Table in Schedule 2 provides a list of applicable countries in which a person may be habitually resident and eligible for an Emergency Fuel Payment if able to show a genuine and sufficient link to the United Kingdom.

This Scheme, which may also be referred to as the Pension Age Fuel Support Payment for Northern Ireland, will apply to Northern Ireland only.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for the Regulations as they have no impact on the costs of business.