The Regulations provide for the manner in which evidence of incapacity for work or of expected confinement or confinement is to be given for the purposes of a claim for benefit under the Social Security Act 1975 for which evidence is required. The Regulations replace the Social Security (Medical Certification) Regulations 1975 (“the 1975 Regulations”) which are revoked.
The Regulations and Rules in Schedule 1 prescribe a certificate in the form of a doctor's statement in which the issuing doctor advises the claimant that he need not refrain from work or, as the case may be, that he should refrain from work for a period of up to 6 months, or longer in certain circumstances. Certificates for the purposes of maternity benefit are prescribed in Schedule 2 and correspond to those in the 1975 Regulations. The Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1975 so that a doctor's statement and a special statement based on a written report from another doctor may be accepted for the purposes of forward allowances of certain benefits.
The Report of the National Insurance Advisory Committee dated 10th March 1976 on the draft of these Regulations referred to them is contained in House of Commons Paper No. 349 (Session 1975–76) published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.