F1Part 1Tax credits

F2Loss of tax credit provisions

36CLoss of working tax credit for repeated benefit fraud

(1)

If—

(a)

a person (“the offender”) is convicted of one or more benefit offences in a set of proceedings (“the current set of proceedings”),

(b)

within the period of five years ending on the date on which the benefit offence was, or any of them were, committed, one or more disqualifying events occurred in relation to the offender (the event, or the most recent of them, being referred to in this section as “the earlier disqualifying event”),

(c)

the current set of proceedings has not been taken into account for the purposes of any previous application of this section in relation to the offender,

(d)

the earlier disqualifying event has not been taken into account as an earlier disqualifying event for the purposes of any previous application of this section in relation to the offender, and

(e)

the offender is a person who would, apart from this section, be entitled (whether pursuant to a single or joint claim) to working tax credit at any time within the disqualification period,

then, despite that entitlement, the restriction in subsection (3) shall apply in relation to the payment of that benefit in the offender's case.

(2)

The restriction in subsection (3) does not apply if the benefit offence referred to in subsection (1)(a), or any of them, is a relevant offence.

(3)

Working tax credit shall not be payable for any period comprised in the disqualification period—

(a)

in the case of a single claim, to the offender, or

(b)

in the case of a joint claim, to the offender or the other member of the couple.

(4)

Regulations may provide in relation to cases to which subsection (3)(b) would otherwise apply that working tax credit shall be payable, for any period comprised in the disqualification period, as if the amount payable were reduced in such manner as may be prescribed.

(5)

For the purposes of this section the disqualification period, in an offender's case, means the relevant period beginning with a prescribed date falling after the date of the conviction in the current set of proceedings.

(6)

For the purposes of subsection (5) the relevant period is—

(a)

in a case where, within the period of five years ending on the date on which the earlier disqualifying event occurred, a previous disqualifying event occurred in relation to the offender, the period of three years;

(b)

in any other case, 26 weeks.

(7)

In this section and section 36D—

“appropriate penalty provision” has the meaning given in section 36A(2)(a);

“benefit offence“ means any of the following offences committed on or after the day specified by order made by the Treasury—

(a)

an offence in connection with a claim for a disqualifying benefit;

(b)

an offence in connection with the receipt or payment of any amount by way of such a benefit;

(c)

an offence committed for the purpose of facilitating the commission (whether or not by the same person) of a benefit offence;

(d)

an offence consisting in an attempt or conspiracy to commit a benefit offence;

“disqualifying benefit” has the meaning given in section 6A(1) of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001;

“disqualifying event“ has the meaning given in section 36A(10);

“relevant offence” has the meaning given in section 6B of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001.

(8)

Where a person is convicted of more than one benefit offence in the same set of proceedings, there is to be only one disqualifying event in respect of that set of proceedings for the purposes of this section and—

(a)

subsection (1)(b) is satisfied if any of the convictions take place in the five year period there;

(b)

the event is taken into account for the purposes of subsection (1)(d) if any of the convictions have been taken into account as mentioned there;

(c)

in the case of the earlier disqualifying event mentioned in subsection (6)(a), the reference there to the date on which the earlier disqualifying event occurred is a reference to the date on which any of the convictions take place;

(d)

in the case of the previous disqualifying event mentioned in subsection (6)(a), that provision is satisfied if any of the convictions take place in the five year period mentioned there.

(9)

The Treasury may by order amend subsection (6) to substitute different periods for those for the time being specified there.

(10)

An order under subsection (9) may provide for different periods to apply according to the type of earlier disqualifying event or events occurring in any case.

(11)

This section has effect subject to section 36D.