The Social Security and Child Support Commissioners (Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Social Security Commissioners (Procedure) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/1495), the Child Support Commissioners (Procedure) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/1305) and the Social Security Commissioners (Procedure) (Tax Credits Appeals) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/3237) to:

• provide for service of documents by e-mail (regulations 2(4), 3(4) and 4(4));

• provide for notice to be given where a party receives funding of legal services (regulations 2(5), 3(5) and 4(5));

• provide for people, organisations or their representatives to be present at a hearing by means of a live television link (regulations 2(9), 3(9) and 4(10));

• provide that where a refusal to set aside a decision is due to the application to set aside being out of time, the time during which an appeal must be made is not affected (regulations 2(11), 3(12) and 4(11)).

Regulation 2 also amends the Social Security Commissioners (Procedure) Regulations 1999 to:

• remove references to tax credits under the Tax Credits Act 1999 (c. 10) which are now repealed and replace them with references to child benefit and guardian’s allowance, both of which are now administered by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (regulations 2(6)(a) and 2(12);

• make express provision for the supersession of decisions on forfeiture (regulation 2(7));

• remove a reference to benefits which are no longer appealed the Social Security Commissioners (regulation 2(8)).

Regulation 3 also amends the Child Support Commissioners (Procedure) Regulations 1999 to:

• prescribe other people in addition to an appeal tribunal chairman who may grant leave to appeal to the Child Support Commissioners (regulation 3(7));

• provide that the time for applying to a chairman for leave to appeal to the Child Support Commissioners does not take account of any time before an error was corrected or before a decision not to set aside (unless because the application was out of time) was taken by the appeal tribunal (regulation 3(8)).

Regulation 4 also amends the Social Security Commissioners (Procedure) (Tax Credits Appeals) Regulations 2002 to:

• clarify which provisions in Part 2 (applications for leave to appeal and appeals) apply to penalty proceedings (regulation 4(6));

• provide that details concerning leave to appeal are only included in the notice of appeal where applicable, i.e. in all cases apart from those involving penalty proceedings (regulation 4(7));

• substitute regulation 11 to provide for time limits within which an appellant must commence the appeal (regulation 4(9)).