The Employment Zones (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Statutory Instruments

2005 No. 1744

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Employment Zones (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Made

30th June 2005

Laid before Parliament

5th July 2005

Coming into force

30th July 2005

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 60(1) to (3) and (9) and 83(4) and (6) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999(1) and section 19 of the Jobseekers Act 1995(2), and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it(3), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Employment Zones (Amendment) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 30th July 2005.

Amendments to the Employment Zones Regulations 2003

2.  The Employment Zones Regulations 2003(4) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions—

(a) in regulation 1(2) after the definition of “employment zone programme” insert—

““Employment Zones Regulations” means these Regulations, the Employment Zones Regulations 2000(5), the Employment Zones (Allocation to Contractors) Pilot Regulations 2004(6) and the Employment Zones (Allocation to Contractors) Pilot Regulations 2005(7);

“New Deal for Young People programme” means a programme provided in pursuance of arrangements made by the Secretary of State under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(8) and specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(ii) or 75(1)(b)(ii) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996(9).”;

(b) in regulation 2(1)(c) for the words after “pursuant to” substitute the following—

• “the Employment Zones Regulations in the previous twelve months but did not complete the programme.”;

(c) for regulation 2(2) substitute—

“(2) An employment officer may direct a claimant who is aged 18 years or over but less than 25 years who is ordinarily resident within an employment zone to participate in an employment zone programme if, in the period immediately preceding the date on which the direction is made, the claimant—

(a) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a continuous period of at least six months after participating in a New Deal for Young People programme or an employment zone programme pursuant to the Employment Zones Regulations;

(b) was entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance for a cumulative period of at least six months after participating in a New Deal for Young People programme or an employment zone programme pursuant to the Employment Zones Regulations provided that any breaks in that period of entitlement do not exceed a period of 28 days in total; or

(c) had participated in an employment zone programme pursuant to the Employment Zones Regulations in the previous twelve months but did not complete the programme.”;

(d) in regulation 4(1)(a) for the words “maximum period of 4 weeks;” substitute “maximum period of 28 days excluding public holidays;”;

(e) in regulation 4(3) for the words “Subject to paragraph (1)(a), the claimant” substitute “A claimant”;

(f) in regulation 4(5) for the words “Subject to paragraph (1)(b), the claimant” substitute “A claimant”;

(g) after regulation 4(5) insert the following—

“(6) In this regulation “public holiday” means Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(10) in any part of Great Britain.”;

(h) in regulation 7(1) for the words “where a person to whom a direction given under regulation 2 or 3 would otherwise apply informs the Secretary of State of a change of address that results in that person no longer being” substitute “where the Secretary of State is satisfied that a person to whom a direction given under regulation 2 or 3 would otherwise apply is no longer”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Margaret Hodge

Minister of State,

Department for Work and Pensions

30 June 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Employment Zones Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2438) (“the 2003 Regulations”) which make provision for jobseeker’s allowance claimants to participate in an employment zone programme established by the Secretary of State in areas of Great Britain known as “employment zones” to assist jobseekers to obtain sustainable employment.

Regulation 1 provides for citation and for commencement.

Regulation 2 provides for amendments to the 2003 Regulations, in particular to accommodate changes consequential upon the Employment Zones (Allocation to Contractors) Pilot Regulations 2005 (S.I.2005/1125); to provide that a claimant aged 18 years or over but less than 25 who has participated in a New Deal for Young People programme or an employment zone programme and subsequently been entitled to jobseeker’s allowance for a further period may be directed to participate in an employment zone programme again; to exclude public holidays from the calculation of the maximum duration of the first stage of the programme and to remove the requirement in regulation 7(1) for a claimant to notify the Secretary of State of a change of address.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.

(1)

1999 c. 30; subsection (9) is an interpretation provision cited for the meaning given to the words “employment” and “prescribed”.

(2)

1995 c. 18.

(3)

See sections 170 and 173(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992; section 84(1) of and Schedule 12, Part II (paragraphs 79 and 81(a)) to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 added that Act to the list of “relevant enactments” in respect of which regulations must normally be referred to the Committee.

(4)

S.I. 2003/2438 as amended by S.I. 2004/1043.

(5)

S.I. 2000/721; these Regulations were revoked, with savings, by S.I. 2003/2438 (as amended by S.I. 2004/1043) as from 26th April 2004.

(6)

S.I. 2004/934.

(7)

S.I. 2005/1125.

(8)

1973 c. 50; section 2 was substituted by section 25(1) of the Employment Act 1988 (c. 29).

(9)

S.I. 1996/207.

(10)

1971 c. 80.