The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2000

Citation, commencement and interpretation E+W+S

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 3rd April 2000.

(2) In these Regulations—

• [F1 “care home” in England and Wales has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000, and in Scotland means a care home service as defined by section 2(3) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001;]

• [F2 “couple” means—

  (a)

  a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

  (b)

  a man and woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

  (c)

  two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or

  (d)

  two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners,

  and for the purposes of paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;;]

• M1 “free in-patient treatment" shall be construed in accordance with regulation 2(2) of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 ;

• M2 “Income Support Regulations" means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 ;

• [F1 “independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000, and in Scotland means an independent healthcare service as defined in section 2(5)(a) and (b) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001;]

• “qualifying week" means in respect of any year the week beginning on the third Monday in the September of that year;

• F3 ...

• “partner" means a member of–

  (a)

  [F4 a couple]; or

  (b)

  a polygamous marriage;

• F3 ...

• [F5 “state pension credit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002;]

• F6 ...

[F7 (3) F8 ... in these Regulations a person—

(a) is in residential care if, disregarding any period of temporary absence, he resides in—

(i) [F9 a care home;]

(ii) [F9 an independent hospital; or]

(iv) accommodation provided under section 3(1) of the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 M3 (provision by the Secretary of State of accommodation in camps),

throughout the qualifying week and the period of 12 weeks immediately before the qualifying week;

(b) lives with another person if—

(i) disregarding any period of temporary absence, they share accommodation as their mutual home; and

(ii) they are not in residential care.]

F10 (3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—

(a) to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number; and

(b) in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation bearing that number.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (24.10.2005) by The Social Security (Care Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2687), regs. 1, 8(2)(a)(ii)

F2 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership (Pensions, Social Security and Child Support) (Consequential, etc. Provisions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2877), art. 1, Sch. 3 para. 32(a) (with art. 3)

F3 Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (24.10.2005) by virtue of The Social Security (Care Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2687), regs. 1, 8(2)(a)(i)

F4 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership (Pensions, Social Security and Child Support) (Consequential, etc. Provisions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2877), art. 1, Sch. 3 para. 32(b) (with art. 3)

F5 Words in reg. 1 inserted (20.9.2004) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2154), regs. 1, 2(a)

F6 Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (13.11.2000) by virtue of The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/2864), regs. 1, 2(a)(i)

F7 Reg. 1(3)(3A) substituted (2.11.2001) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/3375), regs. 1, 2(2)

F8 Words in reg. 1(3) omitted (24.10.2005) by virtue of The Social Security (Care Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2687), regs. 1, 8(2)(b)(i)

F9 Reg. 1(3)(a)(i)(ii) substituted for (24.10.2005) by The Social Security (Care Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2687), regs. 1, 8(2)(b)(ii)

F10 Reg. 1(3A) omitted (24.10.2005) by virtue of The Social Security (Care Homes and Independent Hospitals) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2687), regs. 1, 8(2)(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1975/555; regulation 2(2) was substituted by S.I. 1992/2595.

M2 S.I. 1987/1967.

M3 1947 c. 19; section 3(1) was amended by the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 (c. 20), section 39(1) and Schedule 6, paragraph 3(1) and the Social Security Act 1980 (c. 30), section 20(1) and Schedule 4, paragraph 1(1)(a).

Social fund winter fuel payments E+W+S

[F11 2.— (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and regulation 3 of these Regulations, and regulation 36(2) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, the Secretary of State shall pay to a person who—

(a) in respect of any day falling within the qualifying week is ordinarily resident in Great Britain; and

(b) has attained the age of 60 in or before the qualifying week,

a winter fuel payment of—

(i) £200 unless he is in residential care or head (ii)(aa) applies; or

(ii) £100 if [F12 state pension credit] or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance has not been, nor falls to be, paid to him in respect of the qualifying week and he is—

(aa) in that week living with a person to whom a payment under these Regulations has been, or falls to be, made in respect of the winter following the qualifying week; or

(bb) in residential care.

(2) Where such a person has attained the age of 80 in or before the qualifying week—

(a) in paragraph (1)(i), for the sum of £200 there shall be substituted the sum of £300; and

(b) [F13 in paragraph (1)(ii), for the sum of £100 there shall be substituted the sum of £200, except that—

(i) where he is in that week living with a person to whom a payment under these Regulations has been, or falls to be, made in respect of the winter following that week who has also attained the age of 80 in or before that week, or

(ii) where he is in residential care,

there shall be substituted the sum of £150.]

(3) Where such a person has not attained the age of 80 in or before the qualifying week but he is a partner of and living with a person who has done so, in paragraph (1)(i) for the sum of £200 there shall be substituted the sum of £300.]

Textual Amendments

F11 Reg. 2 substituted (1.9.2003) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1737), regs. 1, 2

F12 Words in reg. 2(1)(ii) substituted (20.9.2004) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2154), regs. 1, 2(b)

F13 Reg. 2(2)(b) substituted (3.9.2003) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2192), regs. 1, 2

Persons not entitled to a social fund winter fuel payment E+W+S

3.—(1) Regulation 2 shall not apply in respect of a person who—

(a) is in the qualifying week—

(i) a partner [F14 of, and living with, a person] aged 60 or over in the qualifying week to whom [F15 state pension credit] or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance has been, or falls to be, paid in respect of the qualifying week;

(ii) receiving free in-patient treatment and has been receiving free in-patient treatment for more than 52 weeks; or

(iii) detained in custody under a sentence imposed by a court; or

(b) subject to paragraph (2), has not made a claim for a winter fuel payment before the 31st March following the qualifying week in respect of the winter following that week.

(2) Paragraph (1)(b) shall not apply where—

(a) a payment has been made by virtue of regulation 4(1) before the 31st March following the qualifying week in respect of the winter following that week; or

(b) regulation 4(2) applies.

Textual Amendments

F14 Words in reg. 3(1)(a)(i) substituted (13.11.2000) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/2864), regs. 1, 2(b)

F15 Words in reg. 3(1)(a)(i) substituted (20.9.2004) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2154), regs. 1, 2(c)

Making a winter fuel payment without a claim E+W+S

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of State may before the 31st March of the year following the year in which the qualifying week falls make a winter fuel payment under regulation 2 in respect of the preceding winter to a person who (disregarding regulation 3(b)) appears from official records held by the Secretary of State to be entitled to a payment under that regulation.

(2) Where a person becomes entitled to income support [F16 or state pension credit] in respect of the qualifying week by virtue of a decision made after that week that section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (exclusions) ceases to apply to him the Secretary of State shall make a winter fuel payment to that person under regulation 2 in respect of the winter following the qualifying week.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), for the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) official records held by the Secretary of State as to a person’s circumstances shall be sufficient evidence thereof for the purpose of deciding his entitlement to a winter fuel payment and its amount.

(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply so as to exclude the revision of a decision under section 9 of the Social Security Act 1998 (revision of decisions) or the supersession of a decision under section 10 M4 of that Act (decisions superseding earlier decisions) or the consideration of fresh evidence in connection with the revision or supersession of a decision.

Textual Amendments

F16 Words in reg. 4(2) inserted (20.9.2004) by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2154), regs. 1, 2(d)

Marginal Citations

M4 Section 10 was amended by paragraph 23 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c. 2).

Revocations E+W+S

5.  The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 1998 M5 , the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Amendment Regulations 1998 M6 and the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Amendment Regulations 1999 M7 are hereby revoked.

Marginal Citations

M5 S.I. 1998/19.

M6 S.I. 1998/1910.

M7 S.I. 1999/1880.

Signed by Authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Angela Eagle

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of Social Security