Clause 11: Loss of benefit regulations
135.This section contains provisions about the making of regulations by the Secretary of State.
136.Subsection (1) defines the term ‘prescribed’ to mean prescribed by, or in accordance with, regulations made by the Secretary of State.
137.Subsection (2) provides for all regulations under these provisions, other than those regulations referred to in subsection (3), to be made by the negative resolution procedure.
138.Subsection (3) lists the regulations that require the affirmative resolution procedure. These are:
regulations that prescribe any additional benefits that are to be treated as disqualifying benefits but not as sanctionable benefits for the purposes of clause 7;
regulations to prescribe a reduced amount of Income Support to be paid to a claimant, or a member of the offender's family, who is subject to a fraud sanction;
regulations prescribing the circumstances in which reduced hardship payments are to be made, and the amount, where the sanction applies to a single claimant on Jobseeker's Allowance, or where both members of a joint-claim couple are subject to a sanction. This subsection also applies to regulations prescribing a reduced amount of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit to be paid to a claimant, or member of the offenders family, who is subject to a fraud sanction;
regulations prescribing a reduced amount of a joint-claim Jobseeker's Allowance where one member of a couple is subject to sanction.
139.Subsection (4) applies provisions of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 allowing the regulation-making powers in clauses 7 to 10 to be used in such a way as to make different provisions for different classes of cases, imposing conditions or creating exceptions. It also enables the regulations to include incidental, consequential and transitional provisions.
140.Subsection (5) provides that regulations under these measures can include different provision for different areas.
