The Income Support (General) (Standard Interest Rate Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 3721

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Income Support (General) (Standard Interest Rate Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2001

Made

19th November 2001

Laid before Parliament

23rd November 2001

Coming into force

16th December 2001

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 123(1)(a), 135(1), 137(1) and 175(1) and (3) to (5) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it(2), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations shall be cited as the Income Support (General) (Standard Interest Rate Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 16th December 2001.

(2) These Regulations shall have effect in relation to any particular claimant—

(a) in a case where income support is paid to the claimant in arrears in accordance with paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 3A to the Decisions and Appeals Regulations(3) (date on which change of circumstances takes effect in certain cases where a claimant is in receipt of income support)—

(i) from the first day of the benefit week which includes 23rd December 2001; or

(ii) if the claim for income support is for a period commencing after 23rd December 2001, from the first day of the first benefit week commencing after 16th December 2001;

(b) in a case where income support is paid to the claimant in advance in accordance with paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 3A to the Decisions and Appeals Regulations, from the first day of the first benefit week commencing after 23rd December 2001,

and for this purpose, the expressions “claimant” and “benefit week” have the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations(4)(interpretation).

(3) In these Regulations, “the Decisions and Appeals Regulations” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999(5) and “the Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(6).

Amendment of Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations

2.  In paragraph 12(1)(a) of Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations(7) (standard rate of interest on qualifying loans), for the words ``6.65 per cent.'' there shall be substituted the words ``6.19 per cent.''.

Revocation of the Income Support (General) (Standard Interest Rate Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2001

3.  The Income Support (General) (Standard Interest Rate Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2001(8) are hereby revoked save that those Regulations shall continue to have effect until the first day of the benefit week having effect in relation to any particular claimant for the purpose of regulation 1(2) of these Regulations.

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

Malcolm Wicks

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Work and Pensions

19th November 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend Schedule 3 to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967), as substituted and amended, with respect to the standard rate of interest applicable to a loan which qualifies for income support under that Schedule to those Regulations. The new rate is 6.19 per cent. (regulation 2). The Regulations also revoke, with a saving provision, regulations which made the previous amendment to that standard rate of interest (regulation 3).

These Regulations do not impose a charge upon business.

(1)

1992 c. 4; section 137(1) is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the word “prescribed”.

(2)

See section 173(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5).

(3)

Schedule 3A was inserted by S.I. 2000/1596.

(4)

The definition of ``benefit week'' was amended by S.I. 1988/1445.

(5)

S.I. 1999/991.

(6)

S.I. 1987/1967.

(7)

Schedule 3 is substituted by S.I. 1995/1613; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2001/2676.

(8)

S.I. 2001/2676.30100