The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996

Status:

This is the original version (as it was originally made).

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996.

(2) These Regulations shall come into force on 7th October 1996.

(3) In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the Jobseekers Act 1995;

“attendance allowance” means–

(a)

an attendance allowance under section 64 of the Benefits Act;

(b)

an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of the Benefits Act (increases where constant attendance needed and for exceptionally severe disablement);

(c)

a payment under regulations made in accordance with section 111 of, and paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 8 to, the Benefits Act (payments for constant attendance in workmen’s compensation cases);

(d)

an increase in allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under section 111 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 8 to, the Benefits Act (industrial diseases benefit schemes);

(e)

a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(1) or any analogous payment;

(f)

any payment based on the need for attendance which is paid as an addition to a war disablement pension;

“benefit week” means a period of 7 days ending on the day which corresponds with the day of the week specified in a notice given or sent to the claimant in accordance with regulation 23 (attendance), except—

(a)

where the Secretary of State requires attendance otherwise than at regular two weekly intervals, the “benefit week” ends on such day as the Secretary of State may specify in a notice in writing given or sent to the claimant, and

(b)

for the purpose of calculating any payment of income in accordance with Part VIII, “benefit week” also means the period of 7 days ending on the day before the first day of the benefit week following the date of claim or, as the case may be, the last day on which a jobseeker’s allowance is paid if it is in payment for less than a week;

“board and lodging accommodation” means–

(a)

accommodation provided to a person or, if he is a member of a family, to him or any other member of his family, for a charge which is inclusive of the provision of that accommodation and at least some cooked or prepared meals which both are cooked or prepared (by a person other than the person to whom the accommodation is provided or a member of his family) and are consumed in that accommodation or associated premises; or

(b)

accommodation provided to a person in a hotel, guest house, lodging house or some similar establishment,

except accommodation provided by a close relative of his or of any other member of his family, or other than on a commercial basis;

“Claims and Payments Regulations” means the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987(2);

“close relative” means, except in Parts II, IV and V, a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, or the spouse of any of the preceding persons or, if that person is one of an unmarried couple, the other member of that couple;

“college of further education” means a college of further education within the meaning of Part I of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992(3);

“concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury which is charged either to the National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit under the Act or the Benefits Act are charged;

“co-ownership scheme” means a scheme under which a dwelling is let by a housing association and the tenant, or his personal representative, will, under the terms of the tenancy agreement or of the agreement under which he became a member of the association, be entitled, on his ceasing to be a member and subject to any condition stated in either agreement, to a sum calculated by reference directly or indirectly to the value of the dwelling;

“couple” means a married or an unmarried couple;

“course of advanced education” means–

(a)

a course leading to a postgraduate degree or comparable qualification, a first degree or comparable qualification, a diploma of higher education or a higher national diploma; or

(b)

any other course which is of a standard above advanced GNVQ or equivalent, including a course which is of a standard above a general certificate of education (advanced level), a Scottish certificate of education (higher level) or a Scottish certificate of sixth year studies;

“course of study” means any course of study, including a course of advanced education and an employment-related course, whether or not it is a sandwich course and whether or not a grant is made for attending or undertaking it and for the purposes of this definition a person who has started a course of study shall be treated as attending or undertaking it, as the case may be, until the last day of the course or such earlier date as he abandoned it or is dismissed from it;

“Crown tenant” means a person who occupies a dwelling under a tenancy or licence where the interest of the landlord belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or to a government department or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners;

“date of claim” means the date on which the claimant makes, or is treated as making, a claim for a jobseeker’s allowance for the purposes of regulation 6 of the Claims and Payments Regulations(4);

“disability living allowance” means a disability living allowance under section 71 of the Benefits Act;

“disability working allowance” means a disability working allowance under section 129 of the Benefits Act;

“dwelling occupied as the home” means the dwelling together with any garage, garden and outbuildings, normally occupied by the claimant as his home including any premises not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately, in particular, in Scotland, any croft land on which the dwelling is situated;

“earnings” has the meaning specified, in the case of an employed earner, in regulation 98, or in the case of a self-employed earner, in regulation 100;

“the Eileen Trust” means the charitable trust of that name established on 29th March 1993 out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with its provisions;

“employment-related course” means a course the purpose of which is to assist persons to acquire or enhance skills required for employment, for seeking employment or for a particular occupation;

“the FEFC” means the Further Education Funding Council for England or the Further Education Funding Council for Wales;

“full-time course of advanced education” means a course of advanced education which is taken by a person who is—

(a)

attending a full-time course of study which is not funded in whole or in part by the FEFC or a full-time course of study (not being higher education) which is not funded in whole or in part by the Secretary of State for Scotland at a college of further education;

(b)

undertaking a course of study which is funded in whole or in part by the FEFC if it involves more than 16 guided learning hours per week for the student in question, according to the number of guided learning hours per week for that student set out in the case of a course funded by the FEFC for England, in his learning agreement signed on behalf of the establishment which is funded by the FEFC for the delivery of that course or, in the case of a course funded by the FEFC for Wales, in a document signed on behalf of the establishment which is funded by the FEFC for the delivery of that course; or

(c)

undertaking a course of study (not being higher education) which is funded in whole or in part by the Secretary of State for Scotland at a college of further education if it involves—

(i)

more than 16 hours per week of classroom-based or workshop-based programmed learning under the direct guidance of teaching staff according to the number of hours set out in a document signed on behalf of the college; or

(ii)

16 hours or less per week of classroom-based or workshop-based programmed learning under the direct guidance of teaching staff and it involves additional hours using structured learning packages supported by the teaching staff where the combined total of hours exceeds 21 per week, according to the number of hours set out in a document signed on behalf of the college;

“full-time student” means a person, other than a person in receipt of a training allowance, who is—

(a)

aged less than 19 and undertaking a full-time course of advanced education or

(b)

aged 19 or over but under pensionable age and–

(i)

(ii)

undertaking a course of study which is funded in whole or in part by the FEFC if it involves more than 16 guided learning hours per week for the student in question, according to the number of guided learning hours per week for that student set out, in the case of a course funded by the FEFC for England, in his learning agreement signed on behalf of the establishment which is funded by the FEFC for the delivery of that course or, in the case of a course funded by the FEFC for Wales, in a document signed on behalf of the establishment which is funded by the FEFC for the delivery of that course; or

(iii)

undertaking a course of study (not being higher education) which is funded in whole or in part by the Secretary of State for Scotland at a college of further education if it involves—

(aa)

(bb)

16 hours or less per week of classroom or workshop based programmed learning under the direct guidance of teaching staff and it involves additional hours using structured learning packages supported by the teaching staff where the combined total of hours exceeds 21 per week, according to the number of hours set out in a document signed on behalf of the college;

“the Fund” means moneys made available from time to time by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with the provisions of a scheme established by him on 24th April 1992 or, in Scotland, on 10th April 1992;

“higher education” means higher education within the meaning of Part II of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992(5);

“housing association” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Housing Associations Act 1985(6);

“housing benefit expenditure” means expenditure of a kind for which housing benefit may be granted;

“Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(7);

“the Independent Living (Extension) Fund” means the Trust of that name established by a deed dated 25th February 1993 and made between the Secretary of State for Social Security of the one part and Robin Glover Wendt and John Fletcher Shepherd of the other part;

“the Independent Living Fund” means the charitable trust established out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing financial assistance to those persons incapacitated by or otherwise suffering from very severe disablement who are in need of such assistance to enable them to live independently;

“the Independent Living (1993) Fund” means the Trust of that name established by a deed dated 25th February 1993 and made between the Secretary of State for Social Security of the one part and Robin Glover Wendt and John Fletcher Shepherd of the other part;

“the Independent Living Funds” means the Independent Living Fund, the Independent Living (Extension) Fund and the Independent Living (1993) Fund;

“invalid carriage or other vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by a petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

“jobseeking period” means the period described in regulation 47;

“last day of the course” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 130 for the purposes of the definition of “period of study” in this paragraph;

“liable relative” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 117;

“lone parent” means a person who has no partner and who is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child or young person;

“long tenancy” means a tenancy granted for a term of years certain exceeding twenty one years, whether or not the tenancy is, or may become, terminable before the end of that term by notice given by or to the tenant or by re-entry, forfeiture (or, in Scotland, irritancy) or otherwise and includes a lease for a term fixed by law under a grant with a covenant or obligation for perpetual renewal unless it is a lease by sub-demise from one which is not a long tenancy;

“lower rate” where it relates to rates of tax has the same meaning as in the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(8) by virtue of section 832(1) of that Act;

“the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust” means the trust of that name, established on 29th January 1990 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia;

“the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No.2) Trust” means the trust of that name, established on 2nd May 1991 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia and other beneficiaries;

“the Macfarlane Trust” means the charitable trust, established partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State to the Haemophilia Society, for the relief of poverty or distress among those suffering from haemophilia;

“making a claim” includes treated as making a claim;

“maternity leave” means a period during which a woman is absent from work because she is pregnant or has given birth to a child, and at the end of which she has a right to return to work either under the terms of her contract of employment or under Part III of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978(9);

“mobility supplement” means any supplement under article 26A of the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983(10) including such a supplement by virtue of any other scheme or order or under article 25A of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(11);

“net earnings” means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 99;

“net profit” means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 101;

“non-dependant” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 2;

“non-dependant deduction” means a deduction that is to be made under regulation 83(f) and paragraph 17 of Schedule 2;

“nursing home” means–

(a)

premises which are a nursing home or mental nursing home within the meaning of the Registered Homes Act 1984(12) and which are either registered under Part II of that Act or exempt from registration under section 37 thereof (power to exempt Christian Science Homes); or

(b)

any premises used or intended to be used for the reception of such persons or the provision of such nursing or services as is mentioned in any paragraph of subsection (1) of section 21 or section 22(1) of the Registered Homes Act 1984 (meaning of nursing home or mental nursing home) or, in Scotland, as are mentioned in section 10(2) of the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938(13) (interpretation) and which are maintained or controlled by a body instituted by special Act of Parliament or incorporated by Royal Charter;

(c)

in Scotland,

(i)

premises which are a nursing home within the meaning of section 10 of the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 which are either registered under that Act or exempt from registration under section 6 or 7 thereof (general power to exempt homes and power to exempt Christian Science Homes); or

(ii)

premises which are a private hospital within the meaning of section 12 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984(14) (private hospitals), and which are registered under that Act;

“occupational pension” means any pension or other periodical payment under an occupational pension scheme but does not include any discretionary payment out of a fund established for relieving hardship in particular cases;

“partner” means where a claimant–

(a)

is a member of a married or an unmarried couple, the other member of that couple;

(b)

is married polygamously to two or more members of his household, any such member;

“part-time student” means a person who is attending or undertaking a course of study and who is not a full-time student;

“payment” includes a part of a payment;

“pay period” means the period in respect of which a claimant is, or expects to be, normally paid by his employer, being a week, a fortnight, four weeks, a month or other longer or shorter period as the case may be;

“period of study” except in Parts II, IV and V means–

(a)

in the case of a course of study for one year or less, the period beginning with the start of the course and ending with the last day of the course;

(b)

in the case of a course of study for more than one year, in the first or, as the case may be, any subsequent year of the course, other than the final year of the course, the period beginning with the start of the course or, as the case may be, that year’s start and ending with either—

(i)

the day before the start of the next year of the course in a case where the student’s grant is assessed at a rate appropriate to his study throughout the year, or, if he does not have a grant, where it would have been assessed at such a rate had he had one; or

(ii)

in any other case the day before the start of the normal summer vacation appropriate to his course;

(c)

in the final year of a course of study of more than one year, the period beginning with that year’s start and ending with the last day of the course;

“policy of life insurance” means any instrument by which the payment of money is assured on death (except death by accident only) or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life, or any instrument evidencing a contract which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life;

“polygamous marriage” means any marriage during the subsistence of which a party to it is married to more than one person and the ceremony of marriage took place under the law of a country which permits polygamy;

“preserved rights” means preserved rights for the purposes of regulation 86;

“qualifying person” means a person in respect of whom payment has been made from the Fund or the Eileen Trust;

“relative” means close relative, grand-parent, grand-child, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece;

“relevant enactment” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 78(8)(a);

“remunerative work” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 51(1);

“residential accommodation” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 85(4);

“residential allowance” means the weekly amount determined in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 1;

“residential care home” means an establishment–

(a)

which is required to be registered under Part I of the Registered Homes Act 1984(15) and is so registered, or is deemed to be registered under section 2(3) of the Registered Homes (Amendment) Act 1991(16) (which refers to the registration of small homes where the application for registration has not been determined); or

(b)

run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society; or

(c)

which provides residential accommodation with both board and personal care and is managed or provided by a body incorporated by Royal Charter or constituted by Act of Parliament other than a local social services authority; or

(d)

in Scotland, which is a home registered under section 61 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968(17) or is an establishment provided by a housing association registered with Scottish Homes established by the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 which provides care equivalent to that given in residential accommodation provided under Part IV of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968; or

(e)

which is exempt from registration under Part I of the Registered Homes Act 1984 pursuant to section 1(4)(a) of that Act (exemption from registration in respect of certain homes) because one or more of the residents are treated as relatives pursuant to section 19(4) of that Act;

and in paragraph (c) of this definition “personal care” means personal care for persons in need of personal care by reason of disablement, past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs, or past or present mental disorder;

“sandwich course” has the meaning prescribed in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 to the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1994(18) and any person on a sandwich course shall be treated as attending or undertaking a course of advanced education or, as the case may be, attending or undertaking a course of study;

“self-employed earner” has the meaning it has in Part I of the Benefits Act by virtue of section 2(1)(b) of that Act;

“single claimant” means a claimant who neither has a partner nor is a lone parent;

“terminal date” in respect of a claimant means the terminal date in his case for the purposes of regulation 7 of the Child Benefit (General) Regulations 1976;

“training allowance” means an allowance (whether by way of periodical grants or otherwise) payable—

(a)

out of public funds by a Government department or by or on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise; and

(b)

to a person for his maintenance or in respect of a member of his family; and

(c)

for the period, or part of the period, during which he is following a course of training or instruction provided by, or in pursuance of arrangements made with, that department or approved by that department in relation to him or so provided or approved by or on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise,

but it does not include an allowance paid by any Government department to or in respect of a person by reason of the fact that he is following a course of full-time education, other than under arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(19), or is training as a teacher;

“voluntary organisation” means a body, other than a public or local authority, the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit;

“war disablement pension” means a pension payable to a person in respect of disablement—

(a)

under the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983(20) and any order re-enacting the provisions of that order;

(b)

under the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(21), and any subsequent scheme made under the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act 1939(22);

(c)

under any scheme made under the Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act 1939(23) or the Polish Resettlement Act 1947(24) applying the provisions of any such order as is referred to in paragraph (a);

(d)

under the order made under section 1(5) of the Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969(25) concerning pensions and other grants in respect of disablement or death due to service in the Ulster Defence Regiment(26);

(e)

under the order in council of 19 December 1881, the Royal Warrant of 27 October 1884, or the order by His Majesty of 14 January 1922 (exceptional grants of pay, non-effective pay and allowances);

(f)

paid by the Overseas Development Administration and which is analogous to any of the pensions mentioned in the preceding paragraphs;

“war widow’s pension” means a pension payable to a woman as a widow under any of the enactments mentioned in the definition of

“war disablement pension” in respect of the death or disablement of any person;

“water charges” means–

(a)

as respects England and Wales, any water and sewerage charges under Chapter 1 of Part V of the Water Industry Act 1991(27);

(b)

as respects Scotland, any water and sewerage charges under Schedule 11 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992(28);

in so far as such charges are in respect of the dwelling which a person occupies as his home;

“week” in Part III and regulation 87 means a period of 7 days;

“year of assessment” has the meaning prescribed in section 832(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(29);

“young person” except in Part IV has the meaning prescribed in regulation 76.

(4) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference–

(a)to a numbered section is to the section of the Act bearing that number;

(b)to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number;

(c)to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in or Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number;

(d)in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(e)in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

(5) Unless the context requires otherwise, any reference to the claimant’s family or, as the case may be, to a member of his family, shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as if it included in relation to a polygamous marriage a reference to any partner and to any child or young person who is treated as the responsibility of the claimant or his partner, where that child or young person is a member of the claimant’s household.

(1)

S.I. 1983/686.

(2)

S.I. 1987/1968.

(3)

1992 c. 37.

(4)

Regulation 6 was amended by S.I. 1988/522, 1989/1686, 1990/725, 2208, 1991/2284, 2741, 1993/2113 and 1994/2319.

(5)

1992 c. 37.

(6)

1985 c. 69.

(7)

S.I. 1987/1967.

(8)

1988 c. 1; the definition of “lower rate” was added by the Finance Act 1992 (c. 20), section 9(9).

(9)

1978 c. 44; section 33 was amended by the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50), section 86, Schedule 10, Part IV, paragraph 75, Schedule 11; the Employment Act 1980 (c. 42), sections 11(1) and (2), 20(3, Schedule 2; the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979 (c. 36), section 23(4), Schedule 7, paragraph 31. Sections 34 to 44 were repealed by the Social Security Act 1986, section 4een amended prospectively by the Social Security Act 1989 (c. 29(3), 86(2), Schedule 4, Part III, Schedule 11. Section 45 was amended by the Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24),t 1989 (c. 24),.24),Schedule 4, Part III, Scedule 11. Section 45 has been amended prospectively by the Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24), section 23, Schedule 5, Part II, paragraph 15; Schedule 5, paragraph 15 has been repealed prospectively by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (c. 19), section 51, Schedule 10. Section 47 was amended by the Employment Act 1980 (c. 42), section 11(3). Part III of the 1978 Act was amended by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993, sections 23 and 25, Schedules 2 and 3.

(10)

S.I. 1983/883.

(11)

S.I. 1983/686; amended by S.I. 1983/1164, 1540 and 1986/628.

(12)

1984 c. 23.

(13)

1938 c. 73; section 10 was amended by section 15 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 (c. 61), and that amendment is preserved notwithstanding the repeal of the 1960 Act by section 126(1)(a) of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 36). Section 10 was also amended by Schedule 7 to the National Health Service (Scotland) Act1972 (c. 58). Schedules 7 and 8 to the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979 (c. 36) and by Schedule 7 to the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53) and subsection (2) of that section 10 was added by section 26 of, and paragraph 14 of Schedule 4 to, the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53).

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)