Citation, commencementF24, application and interpretation1

• “the Act” means the Social Security Act 1998;

• “the 1997 Act” means the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 M2;

• F26F33“the Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments Regulations" means the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations 1992;

• F2“assessed income period” is to be construed in accordance with sections 6 and 9 of the State Pension Credit Act;

• “the Claims and Payments Regulations” means the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 M3;

• “appeal” means an appeal to F61an appeal tribunal F61the First-tier Tribunal;

• F75 “bereavement allowance” means an allowance under section 39B of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F51“bereavement benefit” means—

  1. a

     F22a bereavement allowance;F22bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014; or

  2. b

     F22a bereavement payment; orF22bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014; or

  3. c

     a widowed parent’s allowance;

• F75“bereavement payment” means a bereavement payment under section 36 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F36“the Board” means the Commissioners F74of Inland RevenueF74for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

• “claimant” means—

  1. a

     any person who is a claimant for the purposes of section 191 of the Administration Act F37section 35(1) of the Jobseekers ActF50, section 17(1) of the State Pension Credit Act or section 24(1) of the Welfare Reform Act or any other person from whom benefit is alleged to be recoverable; and

  2. b

     any person subject to a decision of F60an officer of the Board under the Pension Schemes Act 1993 M4;

• F63“clerk to the appeal tribunal” means a clerk assigned to the appeal tribunal in accordance with regulation 37;

• F49...

• F73“contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance” means a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance under Part 1 of the Jobseekers Act;

• F47“contributory employment and support allowance” means a contributory allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act;

• F66F3 “couple” means—

  1. a

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

  2. b

     two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as a married couple;

• “the date of notification” means—

  1. a

     the date that notification of a decision of the Secretary of State F54or an officer of the Board is treated as having been given or sent in accordance with regulation 2(b); F23...

  2. b

     in the case of a social fund payment arising in accordance with regulations made under section 138(2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act—

     1. i

        the date seven days after the date on which the Secretary of State makes his decision to make a payment to a person to meet expenses for heating;

     2. ii

        where a person collects the instrument of payment at a post office, the date the instrument is collected;

     3. iii

        where an instrument of payment is sent to a post office for collection but is not collected and a replacement instrument is issued, the date on which the replacement instrument is issued; or

     4. iv

        where a person questions his failure to be awarded a payment for expenses for heating, the date on which the notification of the Secretary of State’s decision given in response to that question is issuedF64; or

  3. c

     where notification of a decision of the Secretary of State is sent by means of an electronic communication (within the meaning given in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000), the date on which the notification is sent.

• F80“ the Deferral of Retirement Pensions etc. Regulations ” means the Social Security (Deferral of Retirement Pensions, Shared Additional Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2005;

• F20F15“designated authority" has the meaning it has in regulation 2(1) of the Work-focused Interviews Regulations;

  F20“designated authority” means—

  1. a

     the Secretary of State;

  2. b

     a person providing services to the Secretary of State;

  3. c

     a local authority;

  4. d

     a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any functions of, any such authority;

• F13“the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations” means the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008;

• F1“failure determination” means a determination by the Secretary of State under regulation 61(2) of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations or regulation 8(2) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Regulations 2011 that a claimant has failed to satisfy a requirement of regulation 54 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (requirement to take part in a work-focused interview) or regulation 3 of the Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Regulations 2011 (requirement to undertake work-related activity).

• F58“family" has the same meaning as in section 137 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F32...

• F52“the Graduated Retirement Benefit Regulations” means the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations 2005;

• F56“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act;

• “the Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 M5;

• F6“Income Support Work-Related Activity Regulations” means the Income Support (Work-Related Activity) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2014;

• “the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations” means the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 M6;

• F18“a joint-claim couple” has the same meaning as in section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995;

• F9“a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995;

• F31“legally qualified panel member” means a panel member who satisfies the requirements of paragraph 1 of Schedule 3;

• F42“limited capability for work” has the same meaning as in section 1(4) of the Welfare Reform Act

• F55“the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations” means the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017;

• F26F7“the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 2000;

• F26“the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 2000;

• F70...

• F71“medically qualified panel member” means a panel member who satisfies the requirements of paragraph 2 of Schedule 3;

• F45...

• F46“official error” means an error made by—

  1. a

     an officer of the Department for Work and Pensions F82 ... or the Board acting as such which no person outside the Department F82 ... or the Inland Revenue caused or to which no person outside the Department F82 ... or the Inland Revenue materially contributed;

  2. b

     a person employed by a designated authority acting on behalf of the authority, which no person outside that authority caused or to which no person outside that authority materially contributed,

  but excludes any error of law which is shown to have been an error by virtue of a subsequent decision of F10the Upper Tribunal or the court;

• F21“out of jurisdiction appeal” means an appeal brought against a decision which is specified in—

  1. a

     Schedule 2 to the Act or a decision prescribed in regulation 27 (decision against which no appeal lies); or

  1. b

     paragraph 6(2) of Schedule 7 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (appeal to appeal tribunal) or a decision prescribed in regulation 16 of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 (decision against which no appeal lies) ;

• F55“owner-occupier loan payments” means loan payments made under the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations;

• F55“owner-occupier payments” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations.

• F72...

• F14“panel” means the panel constituted under section 6;

• F4“panel member” means a person appointed to the panel;

• F77“panel member with a disability qualification” means a panel member who satisfies the requirements of paragraph 5 of Schedule 3;

• F30“partner” means—

  1. a

     where a person is a member of F28a couple, the other member of that couple; or

  2. b

     where a person is polygamously married to two or more members of his household, any such member;

• “party to the proceedings” means the Secretary of State F69... F67or, as the case may be, the Board or an officer of the Board, and any other person—

  1. a

     who is one of the principal parties for the purposes of sections 13 and 14;

  2. b

     who has a right of appeal to F17an appeal tribunal F17the First-tier Tribunal under section 11(2) of the 1997 Act M7, section 20 of the Child Support Act F57... F65, section 2B(6) of the Administration Act or section 12(2);

• F83“President” means the President of appeal tribunals appointed under section 5;

• “referral” means a referral of an application for a F41variation to F29an appeal tribunalF29the First-tier Tribunal under section 28D(1)(b) of the Child Support Act M8.

• F26F12“relevant other child” is to be interpreted by reference to paragraph 10C(2) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Act;

• F16“the Lump Sum Payments Regulations” means the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) (Lump Sum Payments) Regulations 2008;

• F26F40except where otherwise provided “relevant person" means—

  1. a

     a person with care;

  2. b

     a non-resident parent;

  3. c

     a parent who is treated as a non-resident parent under regulation 8 of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations;

  4. d

     a child, where the application for a maintenance calculation is made by that child under section 7 of the Child Support Act,

  in respect of whom a maintenance calculation has been applied for F39... or is or has been in force;

• F8“relevant credit" means a credit of contributions or earnings resulting from a decision in accordance with regulations made under section 22(5) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F43“shared additional pension” means a shared additional pension under section 55A or 55AA of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F27“state pension credit” means the benefit payable under the State Pension Credit Act ;

• “State Pension Credit Act” means the State Pension Credit Act 2002;

• “State Pension Credit Regulations” means the State Pension Credit Regulations 2002;

• F48“tax credit” means working families' tax credit or disabled person’s tax credit, construing those terms in accordance with section 1(1) of the Tax Credits Act 1999;

• F19“the Transfer Act" means the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc. ) Act 1999;

• F26F84“the Variations Regulations" means the Child Support (Variations) Regulations 2000.

• F44“the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

• F34“widowed parent’s allowance” means an allowance under section 39A of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• F35“work-focused interview” means an interview in which a person is required to take part in accordance with regulations made under section 2A or 2AA of the Administration Act;

• F38“the Work-focused Interviews Regulations" means the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 2000;

Service of notices or documents2