118Benefit offences: period of sanction
(1)The Social Security Fraud Act 2001 is amended as follows.
(2)Section 6B (loss of benefit in case of conviction, penalty or caution for benefit offence) is amended as follows.
(3)In subsection (11), for “the period of four weeks” there is substituted “the relevant period”.
(4)After subsection (11) there is inserted—
“(11A)For the purposes of subsection (11) the relevant period is—
(a)in a case falling within subsection (1)(a) where the benefit offence, or one of them, is a relevant offence, the period of three years,
(b)in a case falling within subsection (1)(a) (but not within paragraph (a) above)), the period of 13 weeks, or
(c)in a case falling within subsection (1)(b) or (c), the period of four weeks.”
(5)After subsection (13) there is inserted—
“(14)In this section and section 7 “relevant offence” means—
(a)in England and Wales, the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud, or
(b)a prescribed offence which, in the offender’s case, is committed in such circumstances as may be prescribed, and which, on conviction—
(i)is found by the court to relate to an overpayment (as defined in section 115A(8) of the Administration Act) of at least £50,000,
(ii)is punished by a custodial sentence of at least one year (including a suspended sentence as defined in section 189(7)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003), or
(iii)is found by the court to have been committed over a period of at least two years.”
(6)After subsection (14) (inserted by subsection (5) above) there is inserted—
“(15)The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (11A)(a), (b) or (c), or (14)(b)(i), (ii) or (iii) to substitute a different period or amount for that for the time being specified there.”
(7)In section 7 (loss of benefit for second or subsequent conviction of benefit offence), after subsection (1) there is inserted—
“(1A)The following restrictions do not apply if the benefit offence referred to in subsection (1)(a), or any of them, is a relevant offence.”
(8)In section 11 (loss of benefit regulations)—
(a)in the heading, after “benefit” there is inserted “orders and”;
(b)in subsection (3) at the end there is inserted—
“(e)regulations under section 6B(14) or an order under section 6B(15), or”;
(c)in subsection (4) after “make”, in both places, there is inserted “an order or”.