Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008

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A decision made (18.09.2009) to amend the Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008.

Decision Reference: MD-S-2009-0054
Decision Summary Title :	Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 - amendment		Date of Decision Summary:	18 September 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Policy and Strategy Director		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 - amendment		Date of Written Report:	18 September 2009
Written Report Author:	Policy and Strategy Director		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008
Decision(s): The Minister decided to amend the Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 to:-  Extend the period of 100% protection for all households until 30 September 2010 with subsequent reductions in transitional phasing being made on 30 June 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 .  Provide for one off payments in respect of GP costs for claimants previously with HIE status and accordingly requested the Law Draftsman to prepare the necessary draft legislation.
Reason(s) for Decision: Following the agreement of funding through the Economic Stimulus programme for an extension of 100% protection, the dates on which the different phased reductions take place need to be amended. An additional provision needs to be added to the Transitional Order to provide for one-off payments in respect of GP costs to individuals previously having HIE status. This will provide support for these costs during the duration of the transitional period.
Resource Implications: There are no manpower implications. The cost of extending transition is covered by the Economic Stimulus bid of £1.44 million. The cost of one-off payments for GP costs is provided for in the existing Income Support budget.
Action required: Instruct the Law Draftsman to amend the Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 - Amendment

Transition Order

Introduction

The Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 provides transitional arrangements for claimants in receipt of benefits that have been replaced by Income Support. Two adjustments to this Order are now necessary.

Following the agreement of funding for an extension of 100% protection, the dates on which the different phased reductions take place need to be amended.

An additional provision needs to be added to the Transitional Order to provide for special payments in respect of GP costs to individuals previously having HIE status.

Transitional phasing

A successful bid to the Economic Stimulus programme has provided funding to extend the period of 100% protection from October 2009 until October 2010. Subsequent reductions will then take place in July rather than October of following years.

The current phasing is shown in this table:

SCHEDULE

(Article 6)

REDUCING PERCENTAGES OF TOP-UP SUM

1 Period	2 Percentage payable under Article 6(1)	3 Percentage payable under Article 6(5)	4 Percentage payable under Article 6(7)	5 Percentage payable under Article 6(9)
From 1st October 2009 to 30th September 2010	100	80	75	66
From 1st October 2010 to 30th September 2011	80	60	50	33
From 1st October 2011 to 30th September 2012	60	40	25	0
From 1st October 2012 to 30th September 2013	40	20	0	0
From 1st October 2013 to 30th September 2014	20	0	0	0

This will become

1 Period	2 Percentage payable under Article 6(1)	3 Percentage payable under Article 6(5)	4 Percentage payable under Article 6(7)	5 Percentage payable under Article 6(9)
From 1st October 2010 to 30th June 2011	100	80	75	66
From 1st July 2011 to 30th June 2012	80	60	50	33
From 1st July 2012 to 30th June 2013	60	40	25	0
From 1st July 2013 to 30th June 2014	40	20	0	0
From 1st July 2014 to 30th June 2015	20	0	0	0

Other minor changes to the Order itself follow:

Article 5(2): This states that no protected payment is payable after 30th September 2014. This date should now become 30th June 2015.

It would also be helpful to specify, in respect of each separate type of phasing, the last date on which a protected payment (top up sum) is payable. The phasing types are set out in article 6, as follows:

Paragraphs 1 and 2 – top up sum is not payable after 30th June 2015

Paragraphs 3 and 4 - the date is already included in paragraph 4 and this will now change to 1 October 2010

Paragraphs 5 and 6 – top up sum is not payable after 30 June 2014

Paragraphs 7 and 8 - top up sum is not payable after 30th June 2013

Paragraphs 9 and 10 - top up sum is not payable after 30th June 2012

GP payments

GP costs in respect of ex-HIE claimants are currently being met through the Special Payments Regulation. It is more appropriate that these costs are covered under the transitional provisions. An amendment to the Transition Order can provide time limited access to one off payments to meet genuine medical costs.

The Transition Order includes the concept of a “protected HIE payment” which is payable to:

§ A household that includes someone that previously received HIE

§ A household that is still receiving at least a % of their legacy amount.

This concept can be used to identify households who will qualify to receive Special Payments in respect of GP costs through the Transition Order. An extra article can be added to the Transitional Order to provide for these payments as follows.

Where a household is entitled to a protected HIE payment, then the household may apply for a special payment in respect of GP costs incurred on or after 28 January 2008 as follows:

§ A special payment may be made to defray the cost of medical services provided by a medical practitioner payable by the claimant if the claimant or a member of the claimant’s household is in urgent need of the services being provided;

§ The amount of a special payment payable under this article shall be the full cost of defraying the expense concerned or such amount as represents a reasonable price for the services being provided, whichever is the lower.

§ No payment will be made in respect of costs incurred after the date on which the household ceases to be eligible for a protected HIE payment.