2017 No. 271

Social Security

The Social Fund (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 138(1)(a), (2) and (4) and 175(1), (3) and (5) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19921.

The Social Security Advisory Committee has agreed that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it2.

Citation and commencement1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

2

They come into force on 6th April 2017.

Amendments to the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 19882

In regulation 1A of the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 (prescribed description of persons)3, for paragraph (3)(d) substitute—

d

P’s child tax credit includes a disability element within the meaning of section 9(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

Amendments to the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 20053

1

The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 20054 are amended as follows.

2

In regulation 3(1) (interpretation), omit the definition of “family element”.

3

In regulations 5(2)(e) (entitlement to Sure Start Maternity Grant)5, 6(1)(b)(ii) (award of Sure Start Maternity Grant to persons affected by a trade dispute) and 7(4)(a)(v)6 (entitlement to funeral payment), for “payable at a rate higher than the family element” substitute “which includes an individual element or a disability element referred to in section 9(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002”.

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

Caroline NokesParliamentary Under - Secretary of State,Department for Work and Pensions
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make consequential amendments to the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/1724) and the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3061) to take account of changes made by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 (c. 7) to child tax credit legislation set out in the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21).

Regulation 2 substitutes regulation 1A(3)(d) of the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 to provide that where a person is in receipt of a specified benefit and has been awarded child tax credit, that person will only qualify for a cold weather payment by virtue of that child tax credit where the child tax credit contains a disability element.

Regulation 3 amends the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005 to ensure that, provided other specified conditions are also met, a claimant will be entitled to a Sure Start Maternity Grant or a funeral payment where the claimant (or the claimant’s partner) has been awarded child tax credit which includes an individual element or a disability element.

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