The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014

PART 1 INTRODUCTORY

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 16th June 2014.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 2002 Act” means the Tax Credits Act 2002(1);

“the 2007 Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2007(2);

“the Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

“assessment period” has the same meaning as in the Universal Credit Regulations(3);

“the Claims and Payments Regulations” means the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013(4);

“contributory employment and support allowance” means a contributory allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act(5) as that Part has effect apart from the amendments made by Schedule 3, and Part 1 of Schedule 14, to the Act that remove references to an income-related allowance;

“exempt accommodation” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Universal Credit Regulations;

“existing benefit” means income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, housing benefit and child tax credit and working tax credit under the 2002 Act, but see also regulation 25(2);

“First-tier Tribunal” has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1998(6);

“housing benefit” means housing benefit under section 130 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(7);

“income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995(8);

“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act(9);

“income support” means income support under section 124 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance” means old style JSA, entitlement to which arises by virtue of section 1(2B) of the Jobseekers Act 1995(10);

“new claimant partner” has the meaning given in regulation 7;

“new style ESA” means an allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act as amended by the amendments made by Schedule 3, and Part 1 of Schedule 14, to the Act that remove references to an income-related allowance;

“new style JSA” means an allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as amended by the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Act that remove references to an income-based allowance;

“old style ESA” means an employment and support allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act as that Part has effect apart from the amendments made by Schedule 3, and Part 1 of Schedule 14, to the Act that remove references to an income-related allowance;

“old style JSA” means a jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as that Act has effect apart from the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Act that remove references to an income-based allowance;

“partner” in relation to a person (“A”) means a person who forms part of a couple with A(11);

“tax credit” (including “child tax credit” and “working tax credit”), “tax credits” and “tax year” have the same meanings as in the 2002 Act(12);

“the Universal Credit Regulations” means the Universal Credit Regulations 2013(13);

“Upper Tribunal” has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1998.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) the date on which a claim for universal credit is made is to be determined in accordance with the Claims and Payments Regulations(14);

(b) where a couple is treated, in accordance with regulation 9(8) of the Claims and Payments Regulations, as having made a claim for universal credit, references to the date on which the claim is treated as made are to the date of formation of the couple;

(c) where a regulation refers to entitlement to an existing benefit on the date on which a claim for universal credit is made or treated as made, such entitlement is to be taken into account notwithstanding the effect of regulations 5, 7 and 8 or termination of an award of the benefit before that date by virtue of an order made under section 150(3) of the Act(15).

Revocation and saving of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2013

3.—(1) The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2013(16) (“the 2013 Regulations”) are revoked, subject to the savings in paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) Chapters 2 and 3 of Part 2 (Pathfinder Group and treatment of invalid claims) of the 2013 Regulations continue to have effect in relation to a claim for universal credit—

(a) which was made before the date on which these Regulations come into force (“the commencement date”); and

(b) in respect of which no payment has been made to the claimant before the commencement date.

(3) Regulation 19 of the 2013 Regulations (advance payments of universal credit) continues to have effect in relation to an advance payment which was made in accordance with that regulation before the commencement date and regulation 17 of these Regulations does not apply to such a payment.

(4) Any other provision of the 2013 Regulations continues to have effect in so far as is necessary to give full effect to paragraphs (2) and (3).

(1)

2002 c.21.

(2)

2007 c.5.

(3)

See regulation 21.

(4)

S.I. 2013/380, amended by S.I. 2013/443.

(5)

See section 1(7).

(6)

1998 c.14.

(7)

1992 c.4.

(8)

See section 1(4).

(9)

See section 1(7).

(10)

Subsection (2B) was inserted by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30), Schedule 7, paragraph 2 and repealed by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (“the Act”), Schedule 14, Part 1.

(11)

See section 39 of the Act for the meaning of “couple”.

(12)

See sections 1(1) and (2), 48(1) and 67.

(13)

S.I. 2013/376.

(14)

See regulation 10.

(15)

See, in particular, S.I. 2013/983 (C.41).

(16)

S.I. 2013/386, amended by S.I. 2013/591, 803 and 2070.