The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2009

Amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996

4.—(1) The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 1(3) (citation, commencement and interpretation) at the appropriate places insert the following—

““enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;”;

““public authority” includes any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature;”;

““service user group” means a group of individuals that is consulted by or on behalf of—

(a)

a Health Board, Special Health Board or the Agency in consequence of a function under section 2B of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

(b)

a landlord authority in consequence of a function under section 105 of the Housing Act 1985,

(c)

a public authority in consequence of a function under section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995,

(d)

a best value authority in consequence of a function under section 3 of the Local Government Act 1999,

(e)

a local authority landlord or registered social landlord in consequence of a function under section 53 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001,

(f)

a relevant English body or a relevant Welsh body in consequence of a function under section 242 of the National Health Service Act 2006,

(g)

a Local Health Board in consequence of a function under section 183 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,

(h)

the Commission or the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator in consequence of a function under sections 4, 5, or 108 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008,

(i)

the regulator or a registered provider in consequence of a function under sections 98, 193 or 196 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, or

(j)

a public or local authority in Great Britain in consequence of a function conferred under any other enactment,

for the purposes of monitoring and advising on a policy of that body or authority which affects or may affect persons in the group, or of monitoring or advising on services provided by that body or authority which are used (or may potentially be used) by those persons;”.

(3) In regulation 60(2)(b) (young persons at the end of the child benefit extension period) omit “after”.

(4) In the headings to regulations 89(2) (child maintenance or liable relative payments), 118(3) (treatment of child maintenance or liable relative payments), 122(4) (calculation of the weekly amount of a child maintenance or liable relative payment) and 123(5) (date on which a child maintenance or liable relative payment is to be treated as paid) omit “child maintenance or”.

(5) In regulation 89(6) and the heading to Chapter VII(7) of Part VIII (child maintenance and liable relative payments) omit “child maintenance and”.

(6) After regulation 98(2)(g)(8) (earnings of employed earners) add—

“(h) any payment in respect of expenses arising out of the claimant’s participation in a service user group.”.

(7) In regulation 103(1) (calculation of income other than earnings) after “earnings)” insert “and regulation 96(3)(9) and (4)(10) (date on which income is treated as paid)”.

(8) In regulation 105 (notional income)—

(a) after paragraph (2)(g)(11) insert—

“(ga) any sum to which paragraph (15A) applies;”;

(b) after paragraph (15)(12) add—

“(15A) Paragraphs (1), (2), (6), (10) (12) and (13) shall not apply in respect of any amount of income other than earnings, or earnings derived from employment as an employed earner, arising out of the claimant’s participation in a service user group.”.

(9) In regulation 117 (interpretation)—

(a) omit the definition of “child maintenance”(13);

(b) in the definition of “payment”—

(i) in paragraph (e)(i)(14) for “family” substitute “partner or is made or derived from a person falling within sub-paragraph (d) of the definition of liable relative”;

(ii) after paragraph (h) add—

“(i) to which paragraph 70 of Schedule 7 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) applies;”;

(c) in paragraph (c)(15) of the definition of “periodical payment” omit “, after the appropriate disregard under paragraph 70 of Schedule 7 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) has been applied to it,”.

(10) In regulation 118(16) (treatment of child maintenance or liable relative payments) omit “and paragraph 70 of Schedule 7 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)”.

(11) In regulation 121(17) (period over which payments other than periodical payments are to be taken into account)—

(a) in paragraph (3) omit sub-paragraph (b) and the preceding “and”;

(b) in paragraph (10) omit “and, where applicable, the maximum disregard under paragraph 70 of Schedule 7”.

(12) In regulation 130 (interpretation) in the definition of “access funds” in paragraph (a)(18)—

(a) for “7” substitute “68”;

(b) omit “and described as “learner support funds” or grants made under section 68 of that Act”.

(13) In Schedule 2 (housing costs) in paragraph 13(2)(19) for “has ceased” insert “ceases on or before 11th April 2010”.

(14) In Schedule 6 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings) in paragraph 1(20)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (1)(b) for “regulation 98(1)(d)” substitute “sub-paragraph (2)(a) or (b)(ii)”;

(b) for sub-paragraph (2)(a) substitute—

“(a) any payment of the nature described in—

(i) regulation 98(1)(d), or

(ii) section 28, 64 or 68 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (guarantee payments, suspension from work on medical or maternity grounds); and”.

(15) In Schedule 7 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—

(a) after paragraph 2 insert—

“2A.   Any payment in respect of expenses arising out of the claimant’s participation in a service user group.”;

(b) in paragraph 17(d)(21)—

(i) for “payment under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 or the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005” substitute “pension or payment falling within article 31(1)(a) or (b) of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005”;

(ii) for “the pension payable under either of those schemes” substitute “that pension or payment”;

(iii) for the last “the” substitute “any”;

(c) before paragraph 26(1)(c)insert—

“(ba) which is a payment made by a local authority in Scotland in pursuance of section 50 of the Children Act 1975 (payments towards maintenance of children);”;

(d) in paragraph 64(22) after “Any payment” insert—

“made with respect to a person on account of the provision of after-care under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983(23) or section 25 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003(24) or the provision of accommodation or welfare services to which Part III of the National Assistance Act 1948(25) refers or to which the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968(26) refers,”;

(e) for paragraph 70(27), substitute—

“70.— (1) Any payment of child maintenance made or derived from a liable relative where the child or young person in respect of whom the payment is made is a member of the claimant’s family, except where the person making the payment is the claimant or the claimant’s partner.

(2) In paragraph (1)—

“child maintenance” means any payment towards the maintenance of a child or young person, including any payment made voluntarily and payments made under—

(a)

the Child Support Act 1991;

(b)

the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

(c)

a court order;

(d)

a consent order;

(e)

a maintenance agreement registered for execution in the Books of Council and Session or the sheriff court books;

“liable relative” means a person listed in regulation 117 (interpretation) other than a person falling within sub-paragraph (d) of that definition.”.

(1)

S.I. 1996/207.

(2)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(3)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(4)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(5)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(6)

Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2003/455 and 2008/2111.

(7)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(8)

Inserted by 1997/454.

(9)

Inserted by S.I. 2000/681 and substituted by S.I. 2003/1731. Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2767.

(10)

Inserted by S.I. 2008/2767.

(11)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2006/588.

(12)

Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2007/1749 and 2618.

(13)

Definition for “child maintenance” was inserted by S.I. 2008/2111.

(14)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(15)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(16)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(17)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/2111.

(18)

Definition for “access funds” was inserted by S.I. 2000/1922. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2001/2319 and 2002/1589.

(19)

Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1999/2860 and 2001/158.

(20)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2007/2618.

(21)

Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2008/3157.

(22)

Inserted by S.I. 1998/2117. Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2005/2687.

(23)

1983 c.20. Section 117 was amended by paragraph 107(1) and (8)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c.17); paragraph 15(1)-(4) of Schedule 1 to the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995 (c.52); paragraph 12(17) of Schedule 4 to the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (c.43); paragraphs 42 and 47 of Schedule 2 to the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 (c.17); paragraphs 1 and 24 of Schedule 3 to the Mental Health Act 2007 (c.12); and savings and transitional provisions are found in paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 10 to the Mental Health Act 2007 (c.12.), and S.I. 2007/961 and 2008/1210.

(24)

2003 asp.13.

(25)

1948 c.29.

(26)

1968 c.49.

(27)

Inserted by S.I. 2000/3176. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2004/98 and 2008/2111.