The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) (Consequential and Transitional Amendments and Savings) Regulations 1995

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make consequential amendments and transitional provisions due to the replacement of sickness benefit and invalidity benefit by incapacity benefit which is introduced by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994.

Part I contains commencement and interpretation provisions.

Part II amends various social security regulations so as to replace references to sickness and invalidity benefit with references to incapacity benefit.

In addition—

• Regulation 5 amends the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 (“the Hospital In-Patients Regulations”) so that a beneficiary will be regarded as having a dependent for the purposes of the Hospital In-Patients Regulations if he either satisfies a condition for an increase in benefit in respect of an adult dependant or would have satisfied such a condition had the conditions for increases for dependants in respect of sickness or invalidity benefit continued to apply after 12 April 1995.

• Regulation 6 provides for the meaning of a day of incapacity for work in relation to credits.

• Regulation 9 prescribes how Category A retirement pension shall be determined for certain widows and widowers.

• Regulation 10 applies to incapacity benefit for the provisions of the Social Security Benefit (Persons Residing Together) Regulations 1977 which deal with the circumstances in which a person is to be treated as residing with his or her spouse when in hospital or temporarily absent.

• Regulation 11 removes references to sickness and invalidity benefit from Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No.2) Regulations 1978 so that these provisions, which deal with the rate of benefit payable to those over pensionable age, apply to unemployment benefit and certain transitional payments of incapacity benefit only.

• Regulation 14 amends the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations 1979 so that (inter alia) where widow’s pension is paid at a reduced rate with long-term incapacity benefit those benefits may not be adjusted by reference to each other and amends the provisions for adjustment where part-week payments of more than one benefit are adjusted and makes various other minor consequential amendments.

• Regulation 17 amends the Social Security (Unemployment, Sickness and Invalidity Benefit) Regulations 1983 by omitting references to sickness benefit and invalidity benefit.

• Regulation 23 provides that where a woman receives increases of benefit for a dependant spouse under the Incapacity Benefit (Transitional) Regulations 1995 such benefit will be treated in the same manner as increases of incapacity benefit made under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 for the purposes of claiming adult dependency increases of retirement pension.

• Regulation 24 amends the Redundant Mineworkers and Concessionary Coal (Payment Schemes) Orders 1983, 1984 and 1986 to include references to incapacity benefit in those Orders.

Part III contains transitional provisions and savings relating to sickness and invalidity benefit in respect of the review of decisions, the recoupment of benefit and entitlement to credits.

These Regulations are made before the end of the period of six months from the coming into force of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 and section 86A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and they are therefore, insofar as they would otherwise have required reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee, exempt from such reference by virtue of section 173(5)(a) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and have accordingly not been so referred.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.