The Social Security (Claims and Information and Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Amendment Regulations 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 1189

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security (Claims and Information and Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Amendment Regulations 2001

Made

26th March 2001

Laid before Parliament

2nd April 2001

Coming into force

23rd April 2001

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 72(1)(b) and 83(1) and (4) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999(1) and sections 2A(6)(c), 189(1) and (4) and 191 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(2), 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(3), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations shall be cited as the Social Security (Claims and Information and Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Amendment Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 23rd April 2001.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Information) Regulations 1999

2.  In regulation 17 of the Social Security (Claims and Information) Regulations 1999(4) (partners of claimants)—

(a) in paragraph (1), for the words “paragraph (3) is satisfied” there shall be substituted the words “one or more of the qualifying benefits has been payable to the claimant for at least six months”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (2), there shall be added the following—

• “;

  (e)

  invalid care allowance”;

(c) paragraph (3) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000

3.  In regulation 5(1) of the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000(5) (deferment of requirement to take part in an interview), for the words “at that time” there shall be substituted the words “until that time”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Angela Eagle

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of Social Security

26th March 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Regulation 2 of these Regulations amends regulation 17 of the Social Security (Claims and Information) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/3108) which enables social security information to be supplied by a relevant authority to the partner of a claimant for a qualifying benefit. It provides that for the information to be supplied under that regulation, a qualifying benefit must have been payable to the claimant for at least six months, it adds invalid care allowance to the list of qualifying benefits and it also removes the restriction that the benefit payable must include an increase for the partner and that the partner of the person entitled to benefit must be aged 50 or over.

Regulation 3 amends the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/1926) by clarifying the date until which the requirement to take part in a work-focused interview may be deferred.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.

(1)

1999 c. 30.

(2)

1992 c. 5; section 2A was inserted by section 58 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c. 30). Section 191 is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the word “prescribe”.

(3)

See sections 170 and 173(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5); section 84 of, and paragraph 81(a) of Schedule 12 to, the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 added section 72 of that Act to the list of “relevant enactments” in respect of which regulations must normally be referred to the Committee.

(4)

S.I. 1999/3108.

(5)

S.I. 2000/1926.