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Miscellaneous amendments to social security legislation

New statutory instrument

10 October, 2011

New regulations have been issued which make miscellaneous amendments to social security legislation.

In force from 31st October 2011, the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2011 (SI.No.2425/2011) make a number of changes to existing legislation including to -

• amend the reciprocal agreements which the United Kingdom (UK) has with governments of countries outside the UK (that allow for the payment of incapacity benefit (IB) in those countries), to enable employment and support allowance (ESA) to be awarded to claimants residing in those countries, following the reassessment of their IB awards;
• include a reference to the Welfare Reform Act 2007 in relation to the Secretary of State’s functions as a data controller so that it will be an offence for a prospective employer to require a prospective employee to obtain or produce information that they (ie the prospective employee) have previously obtained from the Secretary of State in connection with their claim for, or award of, ESA;
• ensure that increased financial support to persons infected with hepatitis C, provided from a new fund ‘the Caxton Foundation’, is to be fully disregarded for all income-related benefits;
• clarify that the existing provision around the 8 week run-on period of the enhanced disability premium following the death of a child applies whether it is the claimant or the partner who is entitled to child benefit;
• include a disregard for the ‘16-19 Bursary Fund’ payments in the income-related benefits alongside the current disregard of education maintenance allowance;
• reduce, from 6 weeks to 4, the overall length of time that a claimant has to complete and return any medical questionnaires in connection with their award of IB or income support (IS) claimed on grounds of incapacity, or claims for, and awards of, ESA;
• replace references to ‘the Connexions Service’ and ‘the Careers Service’ so that the Secretary of State can refer 16 and 17 year olds claiming IS or jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) to such person as the Secretary of State specifies;
• allow one member of a joint-claim couple on JSA to be exempt from labour market conditionality on grounds of limited capability for work by providing medical evidence;
• introduce quarterly work-focused interviews for lone parents aged 18 or over with a youngest child aged 4 or 5;
• clarify that all benefit sanctions be uprated when normal benefit rates are uprated;
• put beyond doubt that the weekly allowance element of the new enterprise allowance, a payment to give unemployed people an incentive to set up their own business, is not included as earnings from self-employment;
• revoke and remake a defective provision concerning the relaxation of the first contribution condition for ESA;
• clarify the date on which entitlement to ESA terminates, following an appeal; and
• allow for a sanction imposed on a JSA claimant who has failed to participate in the Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme, to be reduced irrespective of when the claimant re-engages with relevant requirements.

SI.No.2425/2011 is available from www.legislation.gov.uk