(1)Financial assistance may not be given under section 88 by way of a loan.
(2)Financial assistance may not be given under section 88 where the need for the assistance arises solely from reduction, non-payability or suspension of a reserved benefit as a result of an individual’s conduct (for example, non-compliance with work-related requirements relating to the benefit).
(3)But subsection (2) does not prevent assistance from being given where the need for the assistance in question—
(a)also arises from some exceptional event or exceptional circumstances, and
(b)is immediate.
(4)In subsection (2), “reserved benefit” means a benefit which is to any extent a reserved matter within the meaning of schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998.