The Universal Credit Regulations 2013
| Year | 2013 |
2013 No. 376
Social Security
The Universal Credit Regulations 2013
Made 25th February 2013
Coming into force 29th April 2013
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 2(2), 4(2), (3), (5), (6) and (7), 5, 6(1)(a) and (3), 7(2) and (3), 8(3), 9(2) and (3), 10(2) to (5), 11(3) to (5), 12(1), (3) and (4), 14(5), 15(2), 17(3) and (4), 18(3) and (5), 19(2)(d), (3) and (4), 20(1), 22(2), 24(1), (5) and (6), 25, 26(2)(a), (6) and (8), 27(4), (5), (9), 28, 32(1), 37(3) to (7), 39(3)(a), 40, 96 and 97 of, and paragraphs 1, 4, 5 and 7 of Schedule 1 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 5 to, the Welfare Reform Act 20121.
A draft of these Regulations has been laid before Parliament in accordance with section 43(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
This instrument has not been referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee because it contains only regulations made by virtue of or consequential on Part 1 and sections 96 and 97 of, and Schedules 1 and 5 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of those provisions2.
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 and come into force on 29th April 2013.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;
“additional statutory paternity pay” means additional statutory paternity pay under Part 12ZA of the Contributions and Benefits Act3;
“attendance allowance” means—
(a) an attendance allowance under section 64 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
(b) an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of that Act (increases where constant attendance needed and for exceptionally severe disablement);
(c) a payment of industrial injuries benefit under regulations made under section 64(3)(a) of the Act in any case where the compensation or benefit to which a person was entitled immediately before the commencement of section 64 was—
(i) a payment in respect of the need for constant attendance under regulations made in accordance with section 111 of, and paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 8 to, the Contributions and Benefits Act (payments for constant attendance in workmen’s compensation cases), or
(ii) an increase in an allowance which was payable in respect of constant attendance under section 111 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 8 to, the Contributions and Benefits Act (industrial diseases benefit schemes);
(d) a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 19834or any analogous payment;
(e) any payment based on the need for attendance which is paid as an addition to a war disablement pension;
“bereavement allowance” means an allowance under section 39B of the Contributions and Benefits Act5;
“care leaver” has the meaning in regulation 8;
“carer’s allowance” means a carer’s allowance under section 70 of the Contributions and Benefits Act6;
“carer element” has the meaning in regulation 29;
“childcare costs element” has the meaning in regulation 31;
“child element” has the meaning in regulation 24;
“close relative”, in relation to a person, means—
(a) a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother or sister; and
(b) if any of the above is a member of a couple, the other member of the couple;
“confinement” has the meaning in regulation 8;
“Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19927;
“course of advanced education” has the meaning in regulation 12;
“disability living allowance” means an allowance under section 71 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“earned income” has the meaning in Chapter 2 of Part 6;
“EEA Regulations” means the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 20068;
“employment and support allowance” means an allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 20079as amended by Schedule 3 and Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (removing references to an income-related allowance);
“ESA Regulations” means the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 201310;
“expected number of hours per week” has the meaning in regulation 88;
“foster parent” means—
(a) in relation to England, a person with whom a child is placed under the Fostering Services Regulations 201111;
(b) in relation to Wales, a person with whom a child is placed under the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 200312;
(c) in relation to Scotland, a foster carer or kinship carer with whom a child is placed under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 200913;
“grant” has the meaning in regulation 68;
“health care professional” means (except in regulation 98)—
(a) a registered medical practitioner;
(b) a registered nurse; or
(c) an occupational therapist or physiotherapist registered with a regulatory body established by Order in Council under section 60 of the Health Act 199914;
“housing costs element” has the meaning in regulation 25;
“individual threshold” has the meaning in regulation 90(2);
“industrial injuries benefit” means a benefit under Part 5 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“ITEPA” means the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 200315;
“jobseeker’s allowance” means an allowance under the Jobseekers Act 199516as amended by Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Act (removing references to an income-based allowance);
“local authority” means—
(a) in relation to England, a county council, a district council, a parish council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(b) in relation to Wales, a county council, a county borough council or a community council;
(c) in relation to Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 199417;
“LCW element” and “LCWRA element” have the meaning in regulation 27;
“looked after by a local authority” in relation to a child or young person means a child or young person who is looked after by a local authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 198918or section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 199519;
“maternity allowance” means a maternity allowance under section 35 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“Medical Evidence Regulations” means the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 197620;
“national insurance contribution” means a contribution under Part 1 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“ordinary statutory paternity pay” means ordinary statutory paternity pay under Part 12ZA of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“paid work” means work done for payment or in expectation of payment and does not include being engaged by a charitable or voluntary organisation, or as a volunteer, in circumstances in which the payment received by or due to be paid to the person is in respect of expenses;
“partner” means (except in regulation 77) the other member of a couple;
“personal independence payment” means an allowance under Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012;
“prisoner” means—
(a) a person who is detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under a sentence imposed by a court; or
(b) is on temporary release in accordance with the provisions of the Prison Act 195221or the Prisons (Scotland) Act 198922,
other than a person who is detained in hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 198323or, in Scotland, under the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 200324or the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 199525;
“qualifying young person” has the meaning in regulation 5;
“redundancy” has the meaning in section 139(1) of the Employment Rights Act 199626;
“registered as blind” means registered as blind—
(a) in a register compiled by a local authority under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 194827; or
(b) in a register maintained by or on behalf of a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 199428in consequence of having been certified as blind;
“regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person” has the meaning in regulation 30;
“relevant childcare” has the meaning in regulation 35;
“responsible for a child or qualifying young person” has the meaning in regulation 4;
“statutory adoption pay” means a payment under Part 12ZB of the Contributions Benefits Act29;
“statutory maternity pay” means a payment under Part 12 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“statutory sick pay” means a payment under Part 11 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“student loan” has the meaning in regulation 68;
“terminally ill” means suffering from a progressive disease where death in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 6 months;
“total outstanding reduction period” has the meaning in regulation 101(5);
“trade dispute” has the meaning in section 244 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 199230;
“unearned income” has the meaning in Chapter 3 of Part 6;
“war disablement pension” means any retired pay, pension or allowance payable in respect of disablement under an instrument specified in section 639(2) of ITEPA;
“weekly earnings” has the meaning in regulation 90(6);
“widowed mother’s allowance” means an allowance under section 37 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
“widowed parent’s allowance” means an allowance under section 39A of the Contributions and Benefits Act31;
“widow’s pension” means a pension under section 39 of the Contributions and Benefits Act.
The Benefit Unit
Couples
3.—(1) This regulation makes provision in relation to couples, including cases where...
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