The Social Security (Information-sharing in relation to Welfare Services etc.) Regulations 2012

PART 1 E+W+S GENERAL

Citation and commencement E+W+S

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Information-sharing in relation to Welfare Services etc.) Regulations 2012 and come into force on 2nd July 2012.

Interpretation E+W+S

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 2012 Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

“the benefit cap” means the benefit cap (if any) which is provided for in regulations under section 96 of the 2012 Act;

“the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 M1 ;

[F1 “council tax reduction scheme”—

(a)

in England and Wales, has the meaning given in section 13A(9) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and (in England) includes a default scheme within the meaning of paragraph 4 of Schedule 1A to that Act; and

(b)

in Scotland, means a means-tested reduction to an individual’s council tax liability in accordance with the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012 or the Council Tax Reduction (State Pension Credit) (Scotland) Regulations    2012 ; ]

“disabled person's badge” means a badge issued under section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (badges for display on motor vehicles used by disabled persons) M2 ;

“housing benefit” means housing benefit under section 130 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“housing benefit claimant” means a person who has made a claim for or is in receipt of housing benefit;

“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 M3 ;

“the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 M4 ;

“housing support services” means—

in England, non-statutory assistance;

in Wales, services provided under the supporting people programme in Wales;

in Scotland, services of a type falling within the Schedule to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (Housing Support Services) Regulations 2002 M5 ;

“landlord” includes a person to whom rent allowance is payable under the Housing Benefit Regulations or regulation 76 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (circumstances in which payment is to be made to a landlord), as the case may require;

“non-statutory assistance” means assistance provided by a local authority in England, in the form of the funding, planning, monitoring or delivery of housing-related support services for the purpose of enabling people aged 16 or over to overcome barriers to participation in society by assisting such people to live more independently within their home or community, but does not include the grant of a tenancy or the provision of accommodation;

“regulations relating to under-occupation” means regulations (if any) that have been made under section 130A of the Contributions and Benefits Act M6 which restrict, by reference to the number of bedrooms in relation to the number of people occupying the dwelling as their home, the amount of housing benefit available to housing benefit claimants whose landlord is a social landlord or local authority;

“rent” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations or regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations, as the case may require;

“residential care” means—

(a)

in England and Wales, the provision of accommodation together with nursing and personal care in a care home as defined in section 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000 M7 ;

(b)

in Scotland, the provision of accommodation together with nursing, personal care or personal support by a care home service as defined in paragraph 2 of Schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 M8 ;

“social landlord” means a landlord falling within regulation 13C(5)(a)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Housing Benefit Regulations M9 or regulation 13C(5)(a)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations M10 , as the case may require;

“the supporting people programme in Wales” means the programme of assistance provided by local authorities in Wales, in the form of the funding, planning, monitoring or delivery of housing-related support services for the purpose of enabling people aged 16 or over to overcome barriers to participation in society by assisting such people to live more independently within their home or community, other than through the grant of a tenancy or the provision of accommodation;

“the troubled families programme” means the programme of assistance provided by local authorities in England, for the purpose of engaging with households who face multiple disadvantages (such as crime, worklessness, truancy and anti-social behaviour), in the form of the funding, planning, monitoring or delivery of support services which assist members of such households to obtain employment, education or training, improve school attendance, or address crime and anti-social behaviour.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2 inserted (11.2.2013) by The Social Security (Information-sharing in relation to Welfare Services etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/41), regs. 1, 2(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1992 c.4.

M2 1970 c.44; section 21 was amended by Schedule 30 to the Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), section 68 of the Transport Act 1982 (c.49), paragraph 35 of Schedule 13 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c.27), paragraph 8 of Schedule 10 and Schedule 18 to the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c.19), paragraph 86 of Schedule 13 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39), section 73 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp.2), section 94 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (c.18), paragraph 41 of part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (c.13), section 49 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp.12), and paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c.15).

M3 S.I. 2006/213.

M4 S.I. 2006/214.

M5 S.S.I. 2002/444.

M6 Section 130A is inserted by section 30(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 and amended by section 69 of the 2012 Act.

M7 2000 c.14. Section 3 is amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c.14).

M8 2010 asp.8.

M9 Regulation 13C is inserted by S.I. 2007/2868 and amended by S.I. 2010/671 and 2012/200.

M10 Regulation 13C is inserted by S.I. 2007/2869 and amended by S.I. 2010/671 and 2012/200.