The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Order 2015

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Order 2015.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Order shall come into force for the purposes of—

(a) this article and article 2, on 1st April 2015;

(b) article 3, on 6th April 2015;

(c) article 4, on 5th April 2015, except for the purpose of determining the rate of maternity allowance in accordance with section 35A(1)(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (appropriate weekly rate of maternity allowance under section 35), for which purpose it shall come into force on 6th April 2015;

(d) article 5, on 5th April 2015;

(e) article 6, in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the Income Support Regulations;

(f) article 7, in relation to a case where rent is payable at intervals of a week or any multiple thereof, on 6th April 2015, and in relation to any other case, on 1st April 2015;

(g) articles 8 and 9, in so far as they relate to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the JSA Regulations 1996;

(h) article 10, in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the JSA Regulations 2013;

(i) article 11, in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the ESA Regulations 2008;

(j) article 12, in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first benefit week to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015, and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the ESA Regulations 2013;

(k) article 13, in so far as it relates to a particular beneficiary, on the first day of the first assessment period to commence for that beneficiary on or after 6th April 2015(2), and for the purpose of this sub-paragraph “assessment period” has the same meaning as in section 7(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012(3) (basis of awards);

(l) article 14, on 5th May 2015.

(3) In so far as articles 4, 10 and 12 relate to a beneficiary in favour of whom an award of universal credit is in force, those articles shall come into force for the purposes of determining the beneficiary’s unearned income in relation to that award on the same day as article 13 comes into force for that beneficiary.

(1)

Section 35A was inserted by section 53 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30). Subsection (1) was substituted by section 48 of the Employment Act 2002 (c.22). The rate of maternity allowance is linked to the prescribed rate of statutory maternity pay set out in regulation 6 of S.I. 1986/1960.

(2)

See S.I. 2014/2888 which amends section 1(2) of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 (c.16) and also inserts new section 1(2A) to (2C) into that Act so that it aligns with the monthly assessment period cycle in universal credit.

(3)

2012 c.5.