The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend a number of different regulations relating to social security.

Regulations 3(2) to (4), 7(3) to (5) and 16(7) to (8) amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207)">Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”) and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (“the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations”) respectively, by simplifying the rules where income received from Working Tax Credit is treated as paid.

Regulations 3(5), 7(6), 12(2) to (3), 13, 14(2) to (3) and 15 amend the Income Support Regulations, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations, the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006, the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 (“the Council Tax Benefit Regulations”) and the Council Tax Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 respectively, to make it clear that disabled child premiums and enhanced disability premiums continue in payment for a period of 8 weeks following the death of a child for whom child benefit was being paid.

Regulations 3(6), 7(7) and 16(11) amend the Income Support Regulations, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations respectively, by removing linking rules which had become obsolete, and amending other linking rules to make it clear that they apply where a person’s income is equal to (as well as more than) the amount of benefit payable.

Regulation 4 amends the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 by removing out of date references (including to sums payable by way of child maintenance bonus) and updating others.

Regulation 6(2) and (3) amend the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (General) Regulations 1995 to provide a separate definition of medical evidence where a claimant is treated as being capable of work at the end of a period covered by medical evidence. By expressly cross-referring to the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976, it is made clearer that evidence for the purposes of establishing incapacity for work may include the provision of a self certificate for the first 7 days of a spell of incapacity. Similar amendments are made to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations in respect of establishing limited capability for work (regulation 16(2)(b) and (4)).

Regulation 7(2) amends the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations by removing a provision by which benefit is disallowed if a period of sickness occurs within 12 weeks after a previous claim for employment and support allowance has ended.

Regulation 8 amends Schedule 3B to the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 in relation to dates when changes of circumstances take effect for awards of state pension credit. Dates when those changes of circumstances take effect will now depend on whether the claimant is paid in advance or arrears (paragraph (a)). Where the claimant begins receiving disability living allowance (middle or higher rate care component) or attendance allowance, specific provision is also made as to the day when the change takes effect (paragraph (b)). There is also a change to provide that where a claimant for state pension credit dies, the decision superseding the state pension credit award takes effect from the beginning of the following benefit week (paragraphs (c) and (d)).

Regulation 9 amends the Social Security (Work-Focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000 (“the Lone Parent WFI Regulations”).

Regulation 9(2)(a) substitutes a new paragraph (1) for paragraph (1) of regulation 2 of the Lone Parent WFI Regulations. This makes clear that regulation 2(1) will apply to a lone parent where they fall within any of paragraphs (2) to (4) of regulation 2 of the Lone Parent WFI Regulations, and removes the reference to regulation 2B.

Regulations 9(2)(b) and 10(c) remove references to regulations that have been revoked.

Regulation 9(4) revokes regulations 2B and 4(4) of, and Schedule 3 to, the Lone Parent WFI Regulations to remove the requirement on certain lone parents in specified areas to take part in a work-focused interview every 13 weeks.

Regulation 10 amends the Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 (“the JCP Interviews Regulations”). It amends regulation 4 of the JCP Interviews Regulations, which imposes requirements on certain people who are entitled to income support, incapacity benefit, and severe disablement allowance to take part in work-focused interviews by removing references to regulations that have been revoked.

Regulation 11 amends the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2003 by removing the £10.50 income disregard for income support and jobseeker’s allowance currently applied to those who have been in continuous receipt of those benefits since August 2005 and who have not claimed Child Tax Credit.

Regulations 12(4) and 14(4) remove references to the child maintenance bonus from the lists of capital to be disregarded for the purposes of the Housing Benefit Regulations and Council Tax Benefit Regulations respectively.

Regulation 16(2)(c), (5), (6) and (12) amend the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations to link the amounts to be disregarded from various sources of income with the current rate of the national minimum wage. Similar amendments are made to other legislation in respect of the unemployability supplement to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (regulation 2) and to the limit of earnings from councillor’s allowance and exempt work in the context of incapacity benefit (regulations 5 and 6).

Regulation 16(3) changes an out of date reference in the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations to an appeal tribunal, to refer to the First-tier Tribunal. Regulation 16(2)(a) complements that change by inserting a definition of First-tier Tribunal into those Regulations.

Regulation 16(9) and (10) amend regulations 149(1) and 150 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations respectively, to make clear that a work or training beneficiary is treated as having limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity from the first day within a linking term (i.e. a period of 104 weeks from the first day immediately following the last day in a period of limited capability for work), only until it is determined whether or not that beneficiary has, or is treated as having (i) limited capability for work or (ii) limited capability for work-related activity.

Regulation 16(13) amends the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations to make it clear that income received from a Child Dependency Increase is to be disregarded when calculating income.

A full impact assessment has not been published for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations.