The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Skills Training Conditionality Pilot) Regulations 2010

Citation, commencement and duration

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Skills Training Conditionality Pilot) Regulations 2010.

(2) They come into force on 26th April 2010.

(3) They cease to have effect on 25th October 2011.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“action plan” means a document which is completed by the Secretary of State in relation to a claimant which contains a record of any activity that the Secretary of State considers will, or will be likely to, improve that person’s prospects of obtaining employment;

“appropriate office” means an office of the Department for Work and Pensions which is identified in the Schedule by reference to its district and name on 26th April 2010 (and where such an office closes, a reference in the Schedule to that office shall be construed in relation to any person as a reference to the office at which that person is required to attend instead of that office);

“claimant” means a person claiming a jobseeker’s allowance who is aged 18 or over;

“Jobseeker’s Regime and Flexible New Deal Stage 3” means an arrangement known by that name, being a programme of up to 6 months duration provided by the Secretary of State and which consists of the provision to claimants of advice, support, assistance with job search activity and the development of job search skills;

“training” is to be construed as including attendance by a claimant who has been selected to take part in the Skills Training Conditionality Pilot at a pre-entry interview conducted by a training provider;

“employment officer” has the meaning given in section 19(10)(a) of the Jobseekers Act 1995;

“the Skills Training Conditionality Pilot” means a scheme known by that name for the provision to claimants of training—

(a)

secured by the Learning and Skills Council for England,

(b)

secured by Ufi Limited (operating as “learndirect”),

(c)

which is provided by, or provided pursuant to other arrangements made by, the Secretary of State, or

(d)

which is approved by the Secretary of State in relation to particular claimants;

“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations” means the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996(1).

Application

3.—(1) Subject to regulation 5, these Regulations apply to a claimant who meets the following conditions and who is selected by an employment officer on a sampling basis.

(2) The first condition is that on or after 26th April 2010 the claimant attends an appropriate office pursuant to a notification given or sent under regulation 23 (attendance)(2) or 23A (attendance by members of a joint-claim couple)(3) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations.

(3) The second condition is that the claimant is taking part in Jobseeker’s Regime and Flexible New Deal Stage 3.

(4) The third condition is that, as the result of an assessment by an employment officer that the claimant’s skills place the claimant at significant disadvantage in obtaining employment (including in a particular geographical area), the claimant’s action plan consists of, or includes, undertaking training.

(5) The fourth condition is that an employment officer has given or sent a notice in writing to the claimant stating that, if the claimant fails to participate in the Skills Training Conditionality Pilot, the claimant’s jobseeker’s allowance could cease to be payable or could be payable at a lower rate.

Modification of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations

4.  The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations have effect in relation to a claimant to whom these Regulations apply as if—

(a) in regulation 73(2A)(a) (good cause for the purposes of section 19(5)(b))(4) after “75(1)(b)(ii)” there were inserted “or (iv)”;

(b) in regulation 75(1)(b) (interpretation)(5), at the end there were added—

“(iv) the Skills Training Conditionality Pilot (which has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Skills Training Conditionality Pilot) Regulations 2010).”.

Change of claimant’s address

5.—(1) These Regulations cease to apply to a claimant from the date on which the claimant changes address if, as a consequence of changing address, the claimant is notified under regulation 23 (attendance) or 23A (attendance by members of a joint-clam couple) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations that the claimant should attend at an office of the Department for Work and Pensions which is not an appropriate office for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) However, in a case where these Regulations cease to apply to a claimant from a particular date by virtue of paragraph (1), any relevant determination made before that date in relation to that person shall continue to have effect.

(3) In paragraph (2), “relevant determination” means a determination that—

(a) the claimant’s jobseeker’s allowance is not payable by virtue of section 19 (circumstances in which a jobseeker’s allowance is not payable) of the Jobseekers Act 1995, or

(b) the claimant is subject to a sanction under section 20A (denial or reduction in joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance) of the Jobseekers Act 1995.

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

Name

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Work and Pensions

Date