The measures in the Act
4.The main elements in the Act are:
Part I:
reform of the child support system.
Part II:
reform of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme by way of the State Second Pension;
measures to extend sharing of pension provision on divorce and to facilitate improved pension information for individuals;
further reform of the regulation of occupational and personal pensions; and
measures to extend appeal rights for war pensioners and the introduction of new time limits.
Part III:
measures to withdraw or reduce benefit entitlement where an offender has breached the terms of a community sentence;
clarification and alignment of the powers of benefit fraud Inspectors which currently differ between different benefits and between DSS and local authority investigators; and
measures to align the arrangements for decision-making and appeals in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit with those applying to other social security benefits, and to remove the discretion of Local Authorities to recover overpayments of Housing Benefit resulting from tenant fraud from a landlord (other than in cases of collusion) where the landlord has reported the alleged fraud.
Part IV:
aligning the treatment of benefits in kind for employers’ National Insurance Contributions with their treatment for Income Tax purposes;
facilitate remuneration through share option packages, enhancing employer’s flexibility in rewarding employees.
