The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2013/443 |
| Year | 2013 |
2013 No. 443
Social Security
The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013
Made 25th February 2013
Laid before Parliament 4th March 2013
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 123(1)(d), 135(1), 136(1), 136A(3), 137(1) and (2)(h) and 175(1), (3) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19921, sections 5(1)(p) and (2) and 189(1), (4) and (5) of the Social Security Administration Act 19922, sections 4(5), 8(2), 12(4), 13(2), 19A(4), 19B(2) and (4), 35(1) and 36(2) and (4) of the Jobseekers Act 19953, sections 10(6), 79(1) and 84 of the Social Security Act 19984, sections 2(3)(b), 15(3) and (6), 17(1) and 19(1) of the State Pension Credit Act 20025, sections 17(1) and (3)(b), 24(1) and 25(2), (3) and (5)(a) of the Welfare Reform Act 20076, and sections 92(1) and (4) and 94(1) of the Welfare Reform Act 20127.
In accordance with section 173(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Secretary of State has obtained the agreement of the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it.
In respect of the provisions in these Regulations relating to housing benefit, the Secretary of State has consulted with organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned8.
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013 and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) come into force on 2nd April 2013.
(2) Regulation 5(b) comes into force on 8th April 2013.
(3) Regulation 10 comes into force on 29th April 2013, immediately after the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 20139come into force.
Amendments to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987
2.—(1) The Income Support (General) Regulations 198710are amended as follows.
(2) After the definition of “liable relative” in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), insert—
““local welfare provision” means occasional financial or other assistance given by a local authority, the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers, or a person authorised to exercise any function of, or provide a service to, them, to or in respect of individuals for the purpose of—
(a) meeting, or helping to meet, an immediate short term need—
(i) arising out of an exceptional event, or exceptional circumstances; and
(ii) that requires to be met in order to avoid a risk to the well-being of an individual; or
(b) enabling individuals to establish or maintain a settled home, where those individuals have been or, without the assistance, might otherwise be—
(i) in prison, hospital, a residential care establishment or other institution; or
(ii) homeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life;”.
(3) In regulation 54 (interpretation) in paragraph (e)(ii) of the definition of “payment”11—
(a)
(a) omit “the payment is”; and
(b)
(b) for “rent, housing costs,” substitute “rent for which housing benefit is payable, housing costs to the extent that they are met under regulation 17(1)(e) or 18(1)(f) (housing costs),”.
(4) In Schedule 3 (housing costs)12—
(a)
(a) in paragraph 3(7)(c)(ii) (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home) after “pending” insert “local welfare provision or”; and
(b)
(b) in paragraph 18(7)(i) (non-dependant deductions) before “employment and support allowance” insert “income-related”.
(5) In Schedule 9 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a)
(a) after paragraph 3113, insert—
“31A. Any local welfare provision.”; and
(b)
(b) in paragraph 4614, after “section 13”, insert “, 13A”.
(6) In Schedule 10 (capital to be disregarded)—
(a)
(a) after paragraph 1815, insert—
“18A. Any local welfare provision.”; and
(b)
(b) in paragraph 3616, after “section 13”, insert “, 13A”.
Amendments to the Social Security (Claims and Payment) Regulations 1987
3. In paragraph 6 (fuel costs) of Schedule 9 (deductions from benefit and direct payment to third parties) to the Social Security (Claims and Payment) Regulations 198717—
(a) in sub-paragraph (1)—
(i) for “item of mains gas or mains electricity including any charges for the reconnection of gas or disconnection or reconnection of electricity (“fuel item”)”, substitute “fuel item”; and
(ii) for “that fuel”, substitute “the fuel in respect of which the debt arose (“the relevant fuel”)”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (2)(b), for “that fuel item”, substitute “the relevant fuel”;
(c) at the end of sub-paragraph (2)(b), add “, plus such weekly amount as is required to meet any payments required to be made under a green deal plan within the meaning of section 1 of the Energy Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”).”;
(d) in sub-paragraph (4)(a), for “that fuel item”, substitute “the relevant fuel”; and
(e) after sub-paragraph (7), add—
“8 In this paragraph, “fuel item” means—
(a) any charge for mains gas, including for the reconnection of mains gas; and
(b) any charge for mains electricity, including any charge for the disconnection or reconnection of mains electricity and including any payments required to be made under a green deal plan within the meaning of section 1 of the 2011 Act.”.
Amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996
4.—(1) The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 199618are amended as follows.
(2) After the definition of “liable relative” in regulation 1(3) (interpretation) insert—
““local welfare provision” means occasional financial or other assistance given by a local authority, the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers, or a person authorised to exercise any function of, or provide a service to, them, to or in respect of individuals for the purpose of—
(a) meeting, or helping to meet, an immediate short term need—
(i) arising out of an exceptional event, or exceptional circumstances; and
(ii) that requires to be met in order to avoid a risk to the well-being of an individual; or
(b) enabling individuals to establish or maintain a settled home, where those individuals have been or, without the assistance, might otherwise be—
(i) in prison, hospital, a residential care establishment or other institution; or
(ii) homeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life;”.
(3) In regulation 25 (entitlement ceasing on a failure to comply)19—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (1)(a), for “attend”, substitute “participate in an interview”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (1)(b)(i), for the words from “that claimant” to “required to attend” substitute—
“that claimant makes contact with an employment officer on the day specified in the relevant notification but fails to participate in an interview at the time specified in that notification, and the Secretary of State has informed that claimant in writing that a failure to participate in an interview, on the next occasion on which he is required to participate in an interview”; and
(c)
(c) in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) and (iii), for “attend” substitute “participate”.
(4) In regulation 26 (time at which entitlement is to cease)20—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (b), for “attend”, substitute “participate in an interview”; and
(b)
(b) in the full-out words, for “attended”, substitute “participated in an interview”.
(5) In regulation 67(2) (sanctions)21—
(a)
(a) for “section 19A(2)(c) or (d)” in the first two instances where this reference appears, substitute “section 19(2)(c) or (d)”;
(b)
(b) for “section 19A(2)(c) or (d) section 19(2)(a) or (b) read with Part V” at the end of the paragraph, substitute “section 19(2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) read with Part V”.
(6) In regulation 69B (the period of reduction under section 19B: claimants ceasing to be available for employment etc.)22—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (3)(b), after “section 1(2)(a)”, insert “or (c)”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (7), after “claim”, insert “or where regulation 3(g) of the Claims and Payments Regulations applies, the day before the suspension ends”; and
(c)
(c) in paragraph (8), after “claim”, insert “or where regulation 3(g) of the Claims and Payments Regulations applies, the date on which the suspension ends”.
(7) In regulation 70A (cases in which no reduction is to be made under section 19 or 19A)23—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (3)(a), (b) and (c), for “attend” substitute “participate”; and
(b)
(b) in paragraph (4)—
(i) for sub-paragraph (a), substitute—
“(a)
“(a) the claimant fails to participate in an interview at the time specified in a relevant notification, but makes contact with an employment officer in the manner set out in the notification on the day specified in the notification;”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (b), for the words from “the Secretary of State” to “required to attend”, substitute—
“the Secretary of State has informed the claimant in writing that a failure to participate in an interview at the time specified in a relevant notification, on the next occasion on which a claimant is required to participate in an interview”; and
(iii) in sub-paragraphs (c), (d) and (e), for “attend”, substitute “participate in an interview at the time specified”.
(8) In regulation 75 (interpretation)24—
(a)
(a) for paragraph (4), substitute—
“4 In section 19 and in this Part, “employment” means employed earner’s employment other than such employment in which a person is employed whilst participating in an employment programme falling within paragraph (1)(a) and “employed earner” shall be construed accordingly; and for the purposes of paragraph (4) of regulation 70C includes self-employment where the...
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