2017 No. 1020

Social Security

The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 17A(1) and (2), 36(2) and (4) of the Jobseekers Act 19951.

In accordance with section 173(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 19922, the Secretary of State has obtained the agreement of the Social Security Advisory Committee that the proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it.

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 and come into force on 20th November 2017.

Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) Regulations 20132

1

The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) Regulations 20133 are amended as follows.

2

In regulation 3 (schemes for assisting persons to obtain employment)—

a

omit paragraphs (2), (3) and (8A);

b

before paragraph (9) insert—

8C

The Work and Health Programme is a scheme designed to assist a claimant who is long-term unemployed in which, for a period of up to 456 calendar days, the claimant is given such support, and required to participate in such activity, as the provider of the Work and Health Programme considers appropriate and reasonable in the claimant’s circumstances to assist the claimant to obtain and sustain employment.

c

in paragraph (9) omit the definitions of “EHC plan”, “Learning Difficulty Assessment” and “work history”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Penny MordauntMinister of StateDepartment for Work and Pensions
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) Regulations 2013 (“the 2013 Regulations”) so as to prescribe the Work and Health Programme for the purposes of section 17A of the Jobseekers Act 1995 in addition to the schemes already prescribed.

This means that persons claiming a jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) who are selected under regulation 4 of the 2013 Regulations are required to participate in the Work and Health Programme. A claimant who fails without good reason to comply with such a requirement is liable to a benefit sanction, i.e. the reduction or loss of JSA for a period of several weeks.

These Regulations also remove three schemes from the 2013 Regulations – Day One Support for Young People, the Derbyshire Mandatory Youth Activity Programme and Community Work Placements – as these schemes are no longer in use, and remove definitions that are no longer necessary.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations.