Search Legislation

Advanced Search

Welfare Reform Act 2012

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

Please note:

All reference to 'Parts' and 'sections' are from the Welfare Reform Act 2012. For other versions of these Explanatory Notes, see More Resources.

  1. Introduction

  2. Background and Summary

  3. Glossary

    1. Part 1 – Universal credit

    2. Part 2 – Working-age benefits

    3. Part 3 – Other benefit changes

    4. Part 4 – Personal independence payment

    5. Part 5 – Social security: general

    6. Part 6 – Miscellaneous

    7. Part 7 – Final

  4. Territorial Extent

  5. Commentary on Sections

    1. Part 1: Universal credit

      1. Section 1: Universal credit

      2. Section 2: Claims

      3. Section 3: Entitlement

      4. Section 4: Basic conditions

      5. Section 5: Financial conditions

      6. Section 6: Restrictions on entitlement

      7. Section 7: Basis of awards

      8. Section 8: Calculation of awards

      9. Section 9: Standard allowance

      10. Section 10: Responsibility for children and young persons

      11. Section 11: Housing costs

      12. Section 12: Other particular needs or circumstances

      13. Section 13: Work-related requirements: introductory

      14. Section 14: Claimant commitment

      15. Section 19: Claimants subject to no work-related requirements

      16. Section 20: Claimants subject to work-focused interview requirement only

      17. Section 15: Work-focused interview requirement

      18. Section 21: Claimants subject to work preparation requirement

      19. Section 16: Work preparation requirement

      20. Section 22: Claimants subject to all work-related requirements

      21. Section 17: Work search requirement

      22. Section 18: Work availability requirement

      23. Section 23: Connected requirements

      24. Section 24: Imposition of requirements

      25. Section 25: Compliance with requirements

      26. Section 26: Higher-level sanctions

      27. Section 27: Other sanctions

      28. Section 28: Hardship payments

      29. Section 29: Delegation and contracting out

      30. Section 30: Supplementary regulation-making powers

      31. Schedule 1: Universal credit: supplementary regulation-making powers

      32. Section 31: Supplementary and consequential amendments

      33. Schedule 2 – Universal credit: amendments

      34. Section 32: Power to make supplementary and consequential provision etc

      35. Section 33: Abolition of benefits

      36. Schedule 3 – Abolition of benefits: consequential amendments

      37. Section 34: Universal credit and state pension credit

      38. Schedule 4: Housing credit element of state pension credit

      39. Section 35: Universal credit and working-age benefits

      40. Schedule 5: Universal credit and other working-age benefits

      41. Section 36: Migration to universal credit

      42. Schedule 6 – Migration to universal credit

      43. Section 37: Capability for work or work-related activity

      44. Section 38: Information

      45. Section 39: Couples

      46. Section 40: Interpretation of Part 1

      47. Section 41: Pilot schemes

      48. Section 42: Regulations: general

      49. Section 43: Regulations: procedure

    2. Part 2: Working-age benefits

      1. Section 44: Claimant commitment for jobseeker’s allowance

      2. Section 45: Interviews

      3. Section 46: Sanctions

      4. Section 47: Procedure for regulation-making powers

      5. Section 48: Consequential amendments

      6. Schedule 7: Jobseeker’s allowance in interim period: consequential amendments

      7. Section 49: Claimant responsibilities for jobseeker’s allowance

      8. Section 50: Dual entitlement

      9. Section 51: Period of entitlement to contributory allowance

      10. Section 52: Further entitlement after time-limiting

      11. Section 53: Condition relating to youth

      12. Section 54: Claimant commitment for employment and support allowance

      13. Section 55: Work experience etc

      14. Section 56: Hardship payments

      15. Section 57: Claimant responsibilities for employment and support allowance

      16. Section 58: Entitlement of lone parents to income support etc

      17. Section 59: Claimant commitment for income support

      18. Section 60: Claimants dependent on drugs etc

      19. Section 61: Entitlement to work: jobseeker’s allowance

      20. Section 62: Entitlement to work: employment and support allowance

      21. Section 63: Entitlement to work: maternity allowance and statutory payments

    3. Part 3: Other benefit changes

      1. Section 64: Injuries arising before 5 July 1948

      2. Section 65: Trainees

      3. Section 66: Persons under 18

      4. Section 67: Restriction on new claims for industrial death benefit

      5. Section 68: Determinations

      6. Section 69: Housing benefit: determination of appropriate maximum

      7. Section 70: Ending of discretionary payments

      8. Section 71: Purposes of discretionary payments

      9. Section 72: Determination of amount or value of budgeting loan

      10. Section 73: External provider social loans and community care grants

      11. Section 74: State pension credit: carers

      12. Section 75: State pension credit: capital limit

      13. Section 76: Calculation of working tax credit

    4. Part 4: Personal independence payment

      1. Section 77: Personal independence payment

      2. Section 78: Daily living component

      3. Section 79: Mobility component

      4. Section 80: Ability to carry out daily living activities or mobility activities

      5. Section 81: Required period condition: further provision

      6. Section 82: Terminal illness

      7. Section 83: Persons of pensionable age

      8. Section 84: No entitlement to daily living component where UK is not competent state

      9. Section 85: Care home residents

      10. Section 86: Hospital in-patients

      11. Section 87: Prisoners and detainees

      12. Section 88: Claims, awards and information

      13. Section 89: Report to Parliament

      14. Section 90: Abolition of disability living allowance

      15. Section 91: Amendments

      16. Schedule 9: Amendments relating to Part 4

        1. Transport Act 1982

        2. Child Support Act 1991

        3. Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992

        4. Social Security Administration Act 1992

        5. Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997

        6. Social Security Act 1998

        7. Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

        8. Social Security Fraud Act 2001

        9. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

      17. Section 92: Power to make supplementary and consequential provisions

      18. Section 93: Transitional

      19. Schedule 10: Personal independence payment: transitional

      20. Section 94: Regulations

      21. Section 95: Interpretation of Part 4

    5. Part 5: Social security: General

      1. Section 96: Benefit cap

      2. Section 97: Benefit cap: supplementary

      3. Section 98: Claims and awards

      4. Section 99: Powers to require information relating to claims and awards

      5. Section 100: Payments to joint claimants

      6. Section 101: Payments on account

      7. Section 102: Power to require consideration of revision before appeal

      8. Section 103: Supersession of decisions of former appellate bodies

      9. Section 104: Electronic communications

      10. Section 105: Recovery of benefit payments

      11. Section 106: Deductions from earnings: other cases

        1. Section 71

        2. Section 71ZA

        3. Section 75

        4. Section 78

      12. Section 107: Recovery of child benefit and guardian’s allowance

      13. Section 108: Application of Limitation Act 1980

      14. Section 109: Recovery of fines etc by deductions from employment and support allowance

      15. Section 110: Powers to require information relating to investigations

      16. Section 111: Time limits for legal proceedings

      17. Section 112: Prosecution powers of local authorities

      18. Section 113: Penalty in respect of benefit fraud not resulting in overpayment

      19. Section 114: Amount of penalty

      20. Section 115: Period for withdrawal of agreement to pay penalty

      21. Section 116: Civil penalties for incorrect statements and failures to disclose information

        1. 115C Incorrect statements etc

        2. 115D Failure to disclose information

      22. Section 117: Benefit offences: disqualifying and sanctionable benefits

      23. Section 118: Benefit offences: period of sanction

      24. Section 119: Benefit offences: sanctions for repeated benefit fraud

      25. Section 120: Loss of tax credits

        1. 36A: Loss of working tax credit in case of conviction or penalty for benefit offence

        2. 36B: Section 36A: supplementary

        3. 36C Loss of working tax credit for repeated benefit fraud

        4. 36D Section 36C: Supplementary

      26. Section 121: Cautions

      27. Section 122: Tax credit fraud: investigation

      28. Section 123: Information-sharing for prevention etc of tax credit fraud

      29. Section 124: Tax credit fraud: prosecution and penalties

      30. Section 125: Unauthorised disclosure of information relating to tax credit offences

      31. Section 126: Tax credits: transfer of functions etc

      32. Section 127: Information-sharing between Secretary of State and HMRC

      33. Section 128: Information-sharing between Secretary of State and DPP

      34. Section 129: Unlawful disclosure of information supplied under section 128

      35. Section 130: Information-sharing in relation to provision of overnight care etc

      36. Section 131: Information-sharing in relation to welfare services etc

      37. Section 132: Unlawful disclosure of information

      38. Section 133: Sections 130 to 132: supplementary

      39. Section 134: Information-sharing for social security or employment purposes etc

    6. Part 6: Miscellaneous

      1. Section 135: Functions of registration service

      2. Section 136: Supporting maintenance agreements

      3. Section 137: Collection of child support maintenance

      4. Section 138: Indicative maintenance calculations

      5. Section 139: Recovery of child support maintenance by deduction from benefit

      6. Section 140: Fees

      7. Section 141: Review of fees regulations

      8. Section 142: Exclusion from individual voluntary arrangements

      9. Section 143: Standards of decision-making

      10. Section 144: Use of jobcentres by sex industry

      11. Section 145: Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

      12. Schedule 13: Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

      13. Section 146: UK child poverty strategies

    7. Part 7: Final

      1. Section 147: Repeals

      2. Section 148: Extent

      3. Section 149: Commencement

  6. Commencement Dates

  7. Hansard References

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources