(1)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter and the Administration Act, provision may be made by regulations for the making of any decision by the Secretary of State under or in connection with the current legislation, or the former legislation, including a decision on a claim for benefit.
(2)Where it appears to the Secretary of State that a matter before him involves a question of fact requiring special expertise, he may direct that in dealing with that matter he shall have the assistance of one or more experts.
(3)In this section—
“the current legislation” means the Contributions and Benefits Act, the Jobseekers Act and the [1997 c. 27.] Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997;
“expert” means a person appearing to the Secretary of State to have knowledge or experience which would be relevant in determining the question of fact requiring special expertise;
“the former legislation” means the National Insurance Acts 1965 to 1974, the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Acts 1965 to 1974, the [1975 c. 14.] Social Security Act 1975 and Part II of the [1986 c. 50.] Social Security Act 1986.