Part I Claims for and Payments and General Administration of Benefit

Necessity of Claim

1 Entitlement to benefit dependent on claim

(1) Except in such cases as may be prescribed, and subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 3 below, no person shall be entitled to any benefit unless, in addition to any other conditions relating to that benefit being satisfied—

(a) he makes a claim for it in the manner, and within the time, prescribed in relation to that benefit by regulations under this Part of this Act; or

(b) he is treated by virtue of such regulations as making a claim for it.

(1A) No person whose entitlement to any benefit depends on his making a claim shall be entitled to the benefit unless subsection (1B) below is satisfied in relation both to the person making the claim and to any other person in respect of whom he is claiming benefit.

(1B) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if—

(a) the claim is accompanied by—

(i) a statement of the person's national insurance number and information or evidence establishing that that number has been allocated to the person; or

(ii) information or evidence enabling the national insurance number that has been allocated to the person to be ascertained; or

(b) the person makes an application for a national insurance number to be allocated to him which is accompanied by information or evidence enabling such a number to be so allocated.

(1C) Regulations may make provision disapplying subsection (1A) above in the case of—

(a) prescribedbenefits;

(b) prescribed descriptions of persons making claims; or

(c) prescribed descriptions of persons in respect of whom benefit is claimed, or in other prescribed circumstances.

(2) Where under subsection (1) a person is required to make a claim or to be treated as making a claim for a benefit in order to be entitled to it, the person is not entitled to it in respect of any period more than 12 months before the date on which the claim is made or treated as made.

(2A) But subsection (2) does not apply—

(a) to disablement benefit or reduced earnings allowance, or

(b) in a case where a claim for the benefit is made or treated as made by virtue of section 3(2).

(3) Where a person purports to make a claim on behalf of another—

(za) for personal independence payment by virtue of section 82 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012; or

(a) for an attendance allowance by virtue of section 66(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act; ...

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

that other shall be regarded for the purposes of this section as making the claim, notwithstanding that it is made without his knowledge or authority.

(4) In this section and section 2 below “ benefit ” means—

(za) universal credit;

(zb) state pension or a lump sum under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(zc) bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(a) benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(aa) a jobseeker's allowance;

(ab) state pension credit;

(ac) an employment and support allowance; and

(ad) personal independence payment.

(b) any income-related benefit.

(5) This section (which corresponds to section 165A of the 1975 Act, as it had effect immediately before this Act came into force) applies to claims made on or after 1st October 1990 or treated by virtue of regulations under that section or this section as having been made on or after that date.

(6) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to other claims.

2 Retrospective effect of provisions making entitlement to benefit dependent on claim

(1) This section applies where a claim for benefit is made or treated as made at any time on or after 2nd September 1985 (the date on which section 165A of the 1975 Act (general provision as to necessity of claim for entitlement to benefit), as originally enacted, came into force) in respect of a period the whole or any part of which falls on or after that date.

(2) Where this section applies, any question arising as to—

(a) whether the claimant is or was at any time (whether before, on or after 2nd September 1985) entitled to the benefit in question, or to any other benefit on which his entitlement to that benefit depends; or

(b) in a case where the claimant's entitlement to the benefit depends on the entitlement of another person to a benefit, whether that other person is or was so entitled, shall be determined as if the relevant claim enactment and any regulations made under or referred to in that enactment had also been in force, with any necessary modifications, at all times relevant for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the claimant, and, where applicable, of the other person, to the benefit or benefits in question (including the entitlement of any person to any benefit on which that entitlement depends, and so on).

(3) In this section “ the relevant claim enactment ” means section 1 above as it has effect in relation to the claim referred to in subsection (1) above.

(4) In any case where—

(a) a claim for benefit was made or treated as made (whether before, on or after 2nd September 1985, and whether by the same claimant as the claim referred to in subsection (1) above or not), and benefit was awarded on that claim, in respect of a period falling wholly or partly before that date; but

(b) that award would not have been made had the current requirements applied in relation to claims for benefit, whenever made, in respect of periods before that date; and

(c) entitlement to the benefit claimed as mentioned in subsection (1) above depends on whether the claimant or some other person was previously entitled or treated as entitled to that or some other benefit,

then, in determining whether the conditions of entitlement to the benefit so claimed, are satisfied, the person to whom benefit was awarded as mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) above shall be taken to have been entitled to the benefit so awarded, notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) above.

(5) In subsection (4) above “ the current requirements ” means—

(a) the relevant claim enactment, and any regulations made or treated as made under that enactment, or referred to in it, as in force at the time of the claim referred to in subsection (1) above, with any necessary modifications; and

(b) subsection (1) (with the omission of the words following “at any time”) and subsections (2) and (3) above.

Work-focused interviews and work-related activity

2A Claim or full entitlement to certain benefits conditional on work-focused interview

(1) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with—

(a) imposing, as a condition falling to be satisfied by a person who—

(i) makes a claim for a benefit to which this section applies, and

(ii) has not attained pensionable age at the time of making the claim (but see subsection (1A)),

a requirement to take part in one or more work-focused interviews ;

(b) imposing, at a time when—

(i) a person has not attained pensionable age and is entitled to such a benefit, and

(ii) any prescribed circumstances exist,

a requirement to take part in one or more work-focused interviews as a condition of that person continuing to be entitled to the full amount which is payable to him in respect of the benefit apart from the regulations.

(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) a man born before 6 December 1953 is treated as attaining pensionable age when a woman born on the same day as the man would attain pensionable age.

(2) The benefits to which this section applies are—

(a) income support;

(b) housing benefit;

(c) council tax benefit;

(d) widow's and bereavement benefits falling within section 20(1)(e) and (ea) of the Contributions and Benefits Act ... ;

(e) incapacity benefit;

(f) severe disablement allowance; and

(g) carer’s allowance .

(2A) No requirement may be imposed by virtue of this section on a person who—

(a) is not a member of a couple, and

(b) is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child under the age of one.

(2B) For the purposes of subsection (2A)(b) regulations may make provision—

(a) as to circumstances in which one person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another;

(b) as to circumstances in which persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household.

(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision—

(a) for securing, where a person would otherwise be required to take part in interviews relating to two or more benefits—

(i) that he is only required to take part in one interview, and

(ii) that any such interview is capable of counting for the purposes of all those benefits;

(b) for determining the persons by whom interviews are to be conducted;

(c) conferring power on such persons or the designated authority to determine when and where interviews are to take place (including power in prescribed circumstances to determine that they are to take place in the homes of those being interviewed);

(d) prescribing the circumstances in which persons attending interviews are to be regarded as having or not having taken part in them;

(e) for securing that the appropriate consequences mentioned in subsection (4)(a) or (b) below ensue if a person who has been notified that he is required to take part in an interview—

(i) fails to take part in the interview, and

(ii) does not show, within the prescribed period, that he had good cause for that failure;

(f) prescribing—

(i) matters which are or are not to be taken into account in determining whether a person does or does not have good cause for any failure to comply with the regulations, or

(ii) circumstances in which a person is or is not to be regarded as having or not having good cause for any such failure.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(e) above the appropriate consequences of a failure falling within that provision are—

(a) where the requirement to take part in an interview applied by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above, that as regards any relevant benefit either—

(i) the person in question is to be regarded as not having made a claim for the benefit, or

(ii) if (in the case of an interview postponed in accordance with subsection (7)) that person has already been awarded the benefit, his entitlement to the benefit is to terminate immediately;

(b) where the requirement to take part in an interview applied by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above, that the amount payable to the person in question in respect of any relevant benefit is to be reduced by the specified amount until the specified time.

(5) Regulations under this section may, in relation to any such reduction, provide—

(a) for the amount of the reduction to be calculated in the first instance by reference to such amount as may be prescribed;

(b) for the amount as so calculated to be restricted, in prescribed circumstances, to the prescribed extent;

(c) where the person in question is entitled to two or more relevant benefits, for determining the extent, and the order, in which those benefits are to be reduced in order to give effect to the reduction required in his case.

(6) Regulations under this section may provide that any requirement to take part in an interview that would otherwise apply to a person by virtue of such regulations—

(a) is, in any prescribed circumstances, either not to apply or not to apply until such time as is specified;

(b) is not to apply if the designated authority determines that an interview-

(i) would not be of assistance to that person, or

(ii) would not be appropriate in the circumstances;

(c) is not to apply until such time as the designated authority determines, if that authority determines that an interview-

(i) would not be of assistance to that person, or

(ii) would not be appropriate in the circumstances, until that time;

and the regulations may make provision for treating a person in relation to whom any such requirement does not apply, or does not apply until a particular time, as having complied with that requirement to such extent and for such purposes as are specified.

(7) Where—

(a) a person is required to take part in an interview by virtue of subsection (1)(a), and

(b) the interview is postponed by or under regulations made in pursuance of subsection (6)(a) or (c),

the time to which it is so postponed may be a time falling after an award of the relevant benefit to that person.

(7A) Information supplied in pursuance of regulations under this section shall be taken for all purposes to be information relating to social security.

(8) In this section—

• “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• “ the designated authority ” means such of the following as may be specified, namely-

  (a)

  the Secretary of State,

  (b)

  a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

  (c)

  a local authority,

  (ca)

  subject to subsection (9), a county council in England,

  (d)

  subject to subsection (9), a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, any authority mentioned in paragraph (c) or (ca) ;

  and the purposes which may be so specified include purposes connected with a person's existing or future employment or training prospects or needs, and (in particular) assisting or encouraging a person to enhance his employment prospects.

• “ interview ” (in subsections (3) to (7)) means a work-focused interview; “ relevant benefit ”, in relation to any person required to take part in a work-focused interview, means any benefit in relation to which that requirement applied by virtue of subsection (1)(a) or (b) above;

• “ specified ” means prescribed by or determined in accordance with regulations;

• “ work-focused interview ”, in relation to a person, means an interview conducted for such purposes connected with employment or training in the case of that person as may be specified;

(9) A county council in England or a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, such a council may be specified as the designated authority only in relation to interviews with persons to whom the council is required to make support services available under section 68(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008(support services: provision by local authorities).

2AA Full entitlement to certain benefits conditional on work-focused interview for partner

(1) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with imposing, at a time when—

(a) a person (“the claimant”) who—

(i) has not attained pensionable age (but see subsection (1A)), and

(ii) has a partner who has also not attained pensionable age,

is entitled to a benefit to which this section applies at a higher rate referable to his partner, and

(b) prescribed circumstances exist,

a requirement for the partner to take part in one or more work-focused interviews as a condition of the benefit continuing to be payable to the claimant at that rate.

(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) a man born before 6 December 1953 is treated as attaining pensionable age when a woman born on the same day as the man would attain pensionable age.

(2) The benefits to which this section applies are—

(a) income support;

(b) an income-based jobseeker's allowance other than a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance;

(c) incapacity benefit;

(d) severe disablement allowance; and

(e) carer's allowance ; and

(f) an employment and support allowance.

(3) For the purposes of this section a benefit is payable to a person at a higher rate referable to his partner if the amount that is payable in his case—

(a) is more than it would be if the person concerned was not a member of a couple; or

(b) includes an increase of benefit for his partner as an adult dependant of his.

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision—

(a) for securing, where the partner of the claimant would otherwise be required to take part in work-focused interviews relating to two or more benefits—

(i) that the partner is required instead to take part in only one such interview; and

(ii) that the interview is capable of counting for the purposes of all those benefits;

(b) in a case where the claimant has more than one partner, for determining which of those partners is required to take part in the work-focused interview or requiring each of them to take part in such an interview;

(c) for determining the persons by whom work-focused interviews are to be conducted;

(d) conferring power on such persons or the designated authority to determine when and where work-focused interviews are to take place (including power in prescribed circumstances to determine that they are to take place in the homes of those being interviewed);

(e) prescribing the circumstances in which partners attending work-focused interviews are to be regarded as having or not having taken part in them;

(f) for securing that if—

(i) a partner who has been notified of a requirement to take part in a work-focused interview fails to take part in it, and

(ii) it is not shown (by him or by the claimant), within the prescribed period, that he had good cause for that failure,

the amount payable to the claimant in respect of the benefit in relation to which the requirement applied is to be reduced by the specified amount until the specified time;

(g) prescribing—

(i) matters which are or are not to be taken into account in determining whether a partner does or does not have good cause for any failure to comply with the regulations; or

(ii) circumstances in which a partner is or is not to be regarded as having or not having good cause for any such failure.

(5) Regulations under this section may, in relation to a reduction under subsection (4)(f), provide—

(a) for the amount of the reduction to be calculated in the first instance by reference to such amount as may be prescribed;

(b) for the amount as so calculated to be restricted, in prescribed circumstances, to the prescribed extent;

(c) where the claimant is entitled to two or more benefits in relation to each of which a requirement to take part in a work-focused interview applied, for determining the extent to, and the order in, which those benefits are to be reduced in order to give effect to the reduction required in his case.

(6) Regulations under this section may provide that any requirement to take part in a work-focused interview that would otherwise apply to a partner by virtue of the regulations—

(a) is, in any prescribed circumstances, either not to apply or not to apply until the specified time;

(b) is not to apply if the designated authority determines that such an interview would not be of assistance to him or appropriate in the circumstances;

(c) is not to apply until such time as the designated authority determines (if that authority determines that such an interview would not be of assistance to him or appropriate in the circumstances until that time);

and the regulations may make provision for treating a partner to whom any such requirement does not apply, or does not apply until a particular time, as having complied with that requirement to such extent and for such purposes as are specified.

(6A) Information supplied in pursuance of regulations under this section shall be taken for all purposes to be information relating to social security.

(7) In this section—

• “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• “ designated authority ” means such of the following as may be specified, namely—

  (a)

  the Secretary of State,

  (b)

  a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

  (c)

  a local authority, and

  (ca)

  subject to subsection (8), a county council in England,

  (d)

  subject to subsection (8), a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, any authority mentioned in paragraph (c) or (ca) ;

• “ partner ” means a person who is a member of the same couple as the claimant;

• “ specified ” means prescribed by or determined in accordance with regulations; and

• “ work-focused interview ” has the same meaning as in section 2A above.

(8) A county council in England or a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, such a council may be specified as the designated authority only in relation to interviews with persons to whom the council is required to make support services available under section 68(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008(support services: provision by local authorities).

2B Supplementary provisions relating to work-focused interviews

(1) Chapter II of Part I of the Social Security Act 1998 (social security decisions and appeals) shall have effect in relation to relevant decisions made under regulations under section 2A or 2AA subject to and in accordance with subsections (3) to (8) below (and in those subsections “ the 1998 Act ” means that Act).

(2) For the purposes of this section a “ relevant decision ” , in relation to regulations under section 2A above, is a decision that a person—

(a) has failed to comply with a requirement to take part in an interview which applied to him by virtue of the regulations, or

(b) has not shown, within the prescribed period mentioned in section 2A(3)(e)(ii) above, that he had good cause for such a failure.

(2A) For the purposes of this section a “ relevant decision ”, in relation to regulations under section 2AA above, is a decision that—

(a) the partner of a person entitled to a benefit has failed to comply with a requirement to take part in an interview which applied to the partner by virtue of the regulations, or

(b) it has not been shown, within the prescribed period mentioned in section 2AA(4)(f)(ii) above, that the partner had good cause for such a failure.

(3) Section 8(1)(c) of the 1998 Act (decisions falling to be made under or by virtue of certain enactments are to be made by the Secretary of State) shall have effect subject to any provisions of regulations under section 2A or 2AA above by virtue of which relevant decisions fall to be made otherwise than by the Secretary of State.

(4) For the purposes of each of sections 9 and 10 of the 1998 Act (revision and supersession of decisions of Secretary of State) any relevant decision made otherwise than by the Secretary of State shall be treated as if it were such a decision made by the Secretary of State (and accordingly may be revised by him under section 9 or superseded by a decision made by him under section 10).

(5) Subject to any provisions of regulations under either section 9 or 10 of the 1998 Act, any relevant decision made, or (by virtue of subsection (4) above) treated as made, by the Secretary of State may be—

(a) revised under section 9 by a person or authority exercising functions under regulations under section 2A or 2AA above other than the Secretary of State, or

(b) superseded under section 10 by a decision made by such a person or authority,

as if that person or authority were the Secretary of State.

(6) Regulations shall make provision for conferring (except in any prescribed circumstances) a right of appeal under section 12 of the 1998 Act (appeal to First-tier Tribunal ) against—

(a) any relevant decision, and

(b) any decision under section 10 of that Act superseding any such decision, whether made by the Secretary of State or otherwise.

(7) Subsections (4) to (6) above apply whether—

(a) the relevant decision, or

(b) (in the case of subsection (6)(b)) the decision under section 10 of the 1998 Act,

is as originally made or has been revised (by the Secretary of State or otherwise) under section 9 of that Act; and regulations under subsection (6) above may make provision for treating, for the purposes of section 12 of that Act, any decision made or revised otherwise than by the Secretary of State as if it were a decision made or revised by him.

(8) Section 12 of the 1998 Act shall not apply to any decision falling within subsection (6) above except in accordance with regulations under that subsection.

(9) In ...

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) section 72(6) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (supply of information),

any reference to information relating to social security includes any information supplied by a person for the purposes of an interview which he is required to take part in by virtue of section 2A or 2AA above.

(10) In this section “ interview ” means a work-focused interview within the meaning of section 2A above.

2C Optional work-focused interviews

(1) Regulations may make provision for conferring on local authorities or, subject to subsection (3A), county councils in England functions in connection with conducting work-focused interviews in cases where such interviews are requested or consented to by persons to whom this section applies.

(2) This section applies to —

(a) persons making claims for or entitled to any of the benefits listed in section 2A(2) above or any prescribedbenefit; and

(b) partners of persons entitled to any of the benefits listed in section 2AA(2) above or any prescribedbenefit;

and it so applies regardless of whether such persons have, in accordance with regulations under section 2A or 2AA above, already taken part in interviews conducted under such regulations.

(3) The functions which may be conferred on a local authority or on a county council in England by regulations under this section include functions relating to—

(a) the obtaining and receiving of information for the purposes of work-focused interviews conducted under the regulations;

(b) the recording and forwarding of information supplied at, or for the purposes of, such interviews;

(c) the taking of steps to identify potential employment or training opportunities for persons taking part in such interviews.

(3A) Regulations under this section may confer functions on a county council in England only in relation to interviews with persons to whom the council is required to make support services available under section 68(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008(support services: provision by local authorities).

(4) Regulations under this section may make different provision for different areas or different authorities.

(5) In this section “ work-focused interview ”, in relation to a person to whom this section applies, means an interview conducted for such purposes connected with employment or training in the case of such a person as may be prescribed; and the purposes which may be so prescribed include—

(a) purposes connected with the existing or future employment or training prospects or needs of such a person, and

(b) (in particular) assisting or encouraging such a person to enhance his employment prospects.

2D Work-related activity

(1) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with imposing on a person who—

(a) is entitled to income support, and

(b) is not a lone parent of a child under the age of 3,

a requirement to undertake work-related activity in accordance with regulations as a condition of continuing to be entitled to the full amount of income support payable apart from the regulations.

(2) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with imposing on a person (“P”) who—

(a) is under pensionable age, and

(b) is a member of a couple the other member of which (“C”) is entitled to a benefit to which subsection (3) applies at a higher rate referable to P,

a requirement to undertake work-related activity in accordance with regulations as a condition of the benefit continuing to be payable to C at that rate.

(3) The benefits to which this subsection applies are—

(a) income support;

(b) an income-based jobseeker's allowance other than a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance; and

(c) an income-related employment and support allowance.

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision—

(a) prescribing circumstances in which a person is to be subject to any requirement imposed by the regulations (a “relevant requirement”);

(b) for notifying a person of a relevant requirement;

(c) prescribing the time or times at which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement is required to undertake work-related activity and the amount of work-related activity the person is required at any time to undertake;

(d) prescribing circumstances in which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement is, or is not, to be regarded as undertaking work-related activity;

(e) in a case where C is a member of more than one couple, for determining which of the members of the couples is to be subject to a relevant requirement or requiring each of them to be subject to a relevant requirement;

(f) for securing that the appropriate consequence follows if —

(i) a person who is subject to a relevant requirement has failed to comply with the requirement, and

(ii) it is not shown, within a prescribed period, that the person had good cause for that failure;

(g) prescribing the evidence which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement needs to provide in order to show compliance with the requirement;

(h) prescribing matters which are, or are not, to be taken into account in determining whether a person had good cause for any failure to comply with a relevant requirement;

(i) prescribing circumstances in which a person is, or is not, to be regarded as having good cause for any such failure.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(f) the appropriate consequence is that the amount of the benefit payable is to be reduced by the prescribed amount until the prescribed time.

(6) Regulations under subsection (5) may, in relation to any such reduction, provide—

(a) for the amount of the reduction to be calculated in the first instance by reference to such amount as may be prescribed;

(b) for the amount as so calculated to be restricted, in prescribed circumstances, to the prescribed extent.

(7) Regulations under this section may include provision that in such circumstances as the regulations may provide a person's obligation under the regulations to undertake work-related activity at a particular time is not to apply, or is to be treated as not having applied.

(8) Regulations under this section must include provision for securing that lone parents are entitled (subject to meeting any prescribed conditions) to restrict the times at which they are required to undertake work-related activity.

(9) For the purposes of this section and sections 2E and 2F—

(a) “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(b) “ lone parent ” means a person who—

(i) is not a member of a couple, and

(ii) is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child;

(c) “ prescribed ” means specified in, or determined in accordance with, regulations;

(d) “ work-related activity ”, in relation to a person, means activity which makes it more likely that the person will obtain or remain in work or be able to do so;

(e) any reference to a person attaining pensionable age is, in the case of a man born before 6 December 1953 , a reference to the time when a woman born on the same day as the man would attain pensionable age;

(f) any reference to a benefit payable to C at a higher rate referable to P is a reference to any case where the amount payable is more than it would be if C and P were not members of the same couple.

(10) For the purposes of this section regulations may make provision—

(a) as to circumstances in which one person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another;

(b) as to circumstances in which persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household.

(11) Information supplied in pursuance of regulations under this section is to be taken for all purposes to be information relating to social security.

2E Action plans in connection with work-focused interviews

(1) The Secretary of State must in prescribed circumstances provide a document (referred to in this section as an “ action plan ”) prepared for such purposes as may be prescribed to a person who is subject to a requirement imposed under section 2A or 2AA in relation to any of the following benefits.

(2) The benefits are—

(a) income support;

(b) an income-based jobseeker's allowance other than a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance; and

(c) an income-related employment and support allowance.

(3) Regulations may make provision about—

(a) the form of action plans;

(b) the content of action plans;

(c) the review and updating of action plans.

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision for action plans which are provided to a person who is subject under section 2D to a requirement to undertake work-related activity to contain particulars of activity which, if undertaken, would enable the requirement to be met.

(5) Regulations may make provision for reconsideration of an action plan at the request of the person to whom it is provided and may, in particular, make provision about—

(a) the circumstances in which reconsideration may be requested;

(b) the period within which any reconsideration must take place;

(c) the matters to which regard must be had when deciding on reconsideration whether the plan should be changed;

(d) notification of the decision on reconsideration;

(e) the giving of directions for the purpose of giving effect to the decision on reconsideration.

(6) In preparing any action plan, the Secretary of State must have regard (so far as practicable) to its impact on the well-being of any person under the age of 16 who may be affected by it.

2F Directions about work-related activity

(1) In prescribed circumstances, the Secretary of State may by direction given to a person subject to a requirement imposed under section 2D provide that the activity specified in the direction is—

(a) to be the only activity which, in the person's case, is to be regarded as being work-related activity; or

(b) to be regarded, in the person's case, as not being work-related activity.

(2) But a direction under subsection (1) may not specify medical or surgical treatment as the only activity which, in any person's case, is to be regarded as being work-related activity.

(3) A direction under subsection (1) given to any person—

(a) must be reasonable, having regard to the person's circumstances;

(b) must be given to the person by being included in an action plan provided to the person under section 2E; and

(c) may be varied or revoked by a subsequent direction under subsection (1).

(4) Where a direction under subsection (1) varies or revokes a previous direction, it may provide for the variation or revocation to have effect from a time before the giving of the direction.

2G Contracting-out

(1) The following functions of the Secretary of State may be exercised by, or by employees of, such person (if any) as the Secretary of State may authorise for the purpose, namely—

(a) conducting interviews under section 2A or 2AA;

(b) providing documents under section 2E;

(c) giving, varying or revoking directions under section 2F.

(2) Regulations may provide for any of the following functions of the Secretary of State to be exercisable by, or by employees of, such person (if any) as the Secretary of State may authorise for the purpose—

(a) any function under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F, except the making of an excluded decision (see subsection (3));

(b) the function under section 9(1) of the 1998 Act (revision of decisions) so far as relating to decisions (other than excluded decisions) that relate to any matter arising under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F;

(c) the function under section 10(1) of the 1998 Act (superseding of decisions) so far as relating to decisions (other than excluded decisions) of the Secretary of State that relate to any matter arising under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F;

(d) any function under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1998 Act (social security decisions), except section 25(2) and (3) (decisions involving issues arising on appeal in other cases), which relates to the exercise of any of the functions within paragraphs (a) to (c).

(3) Each of the following is an “ excluded decision ” for the purposes of subsection (2)—

(a) a decision about whether a person has failed to comply with a requirement imposed by regulations under section 2A, 2AA or 2D;

(b) a decision about whether a person had good cause for failure to comply with such a requirement;

(c) a decision about the reduction of a benefit in consequence of a failure to comply with such a requirement.

(4) Regulations under subsection (2) may provide that a function to which that subsection applies may be exercised—

(a) either wholly or to such extent as the regulations may provide,

(b) either generally or in such cases as the regulations may provide, and

(c) either unconditionally or subject to the fulfilment of such conditions as the regulations may provide.

(5) An authorisation given by virtue of any provision made by or under this section may authorise the exercise of the function concerned—

(a) either wholly or to such extent as may be specified in the authorisation,

(b) either generally or in such cases as may be so specified, and

(c) either unconditionally or subject to the fulfilment of such conditions as may be so specified;

but, in the case of an authorisation given by virtue of regulations under subsection (2), this subsection is subject to the regulations.

(6) An authorisation given by virtue of any provision made by or under this section—

(a) may specify its duration,

(b) may be revoked at any time by the Secretary of State, and

(c) does not prevent the Secretary of State or any other person from exercising the function to which the authorisation relates.

(7) Anything done or omitted to be done by or in relation to an authorised person (or an employee of that person) in, or in connection with, the exercise or purported exercise of the function concerned is to be treated for all purposes as done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the Secretary of State.

(8) But subsection (7) does not apply—

(a) for the purposes of so much of any contract made between the authorised person and the Secretary of State as relates to the exercise of the function, or

(b) for the purposes of any criminal proceedings brought in respect of anything done by the authorised person (or an employee of that person).

(9) Any decision which an authorised person makes in exercise of the function concerned has effect as a decision of the Secretary of State under section 8 of the 1998 Act.

(10) Where—

(a) the authorisation of an authorised person is revoked at any time, and

(b) at the time of the revocation so much of any contract made between the authorised person and the Secretary of State as relates to the exercise of the function is subsisting,

the authorised person is entitled to treat the contract as repudiated by the Secretary of State (and not as frustrated by reason of the revocation).

(11) In this section—

(a) “ the 1998 Act ” means the Social Security Act 1998;

(b) “ authorised person ” means a person authorised to exercise any function by virtue of any provision made by or under this section;

(c) references to functions of the Secretary of State under any enactment (including one comprised in regulations) include functions which the Secretary of State has by virtue of the application of section 8(1)(c) of the 1998 Act in relation to the enactment.

2H Good cause for failure to comply with regulations

(1) This section applies to any regulations made under section 2A, 2AA or 2D that prescribe matters to be taken into account in determining whether a person has good cause for any failure to comply with the regulations.

(2) The provision made by the regulations prescribing those matters must include provision relating to—

(a) the person's physical or mental health or condition;

(b) the availability of childcare.

Bereavement benefits

3 Late claims for bereavement benefit where death is difficult to establish

(1) This section applies where a person's spouse or civil partner has died or may be presumed to have died on or after the appointed day and the circumstances are such that—

(a) more than 12 months have elapsed since the date of death; and

(b) either

(i) the spouse's or civil partner's body has not been discovered or identified or, if it has been discovered and identified, the surviving spouse or civil partner does not know that fact; or

(ii) less than 12 months have elapsed since the surviving spouse or civil partner first knew of the discovery and identification of the body.

(2) Where this section applies, notwithstanding that any time prescribed for making a claim for a bereavement benefit in respect of the death has elapsed, then—

(a) in any case falling within paragraph (b) (i) of subsection (1) above where it has been decided under section 8 of the Social Security Act 1998 that the spouse or civil partner has died or is presumed to have died; or

(b) in any case falling within paragraph (b) (ii) of subsection (1) above where the identification was made not more than 12 months before the surviving spouse or civil partner first knew of the discovery and identification of the body,

such a claim may be made or treated as made at any time before the expiration of the period of 12 months beginning with the date on which that decision was made or, as the case may be, the date on which the surviving spouse or civil partner first knew of the discovery and identification.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) In subsection (1) above “ the appointed day ” means the day appointed for the coming into force of sections 54 to 56 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999.

(5) In subsection (2) “ bereavement benefit ” means—

(a) bereavement support payment, or

(b) widowed parent's allowance.

4 Treatment of payments of benefit to certain widows

In any case where—

(a) a claim for a window's pension or a widowed mother's allowance is made, or treated as made, before 13th July 1990 (the date of the passing of the Social Security Act 1990); and

(b) the Secretary of State has made a payment to or for the claimant on the ground that if the claim had been received immediately after the passing of that Act she would have been entitled to that pension or allowance, or entitled to it at a higher rate, for the period in respect of which the payment is made,

the payment so made shall be treated as a payment of that pension or allowance; and, if and to the extent that an award of the pension or allowance, or an award at a higher rate, is made for the period in respect of which the payment was made, the payment shall be treated as made in accordance with that award.

Claims and payments regulations

5 Regulations about claims for and payments of benefit

(1) Regulations may provide—

(a) for requiring a claim for a benefit to which this section applies to be made by such person, in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed;

(b) for treating such a claim made in such circumstances as may be prescribed as having been made at such date earlier or later than that at which it is made as may be prescribed;

(c) for permitting such a claim to be made, or treated as if made, for a period wholly or partly after the date on which it is made;

(d) for permitting an award on such a claim to be made for such a period subject to —

(i) the condition that the requirements for entitlement are satisfied at a prescribed time after the making of the award, or

(ii) other prescribed conditions;

(e) for any such award to be revised under section 9 of the Social Security Act 1998, or superseded under section 10 of that Act, if any of the conditions referred to in paragraph (d) are found not to have been satisfied;

(f) for the disallowance on any ground of a person's claim for a benefit to which this section applies to be treated as a disallowance of any further claim by that person for that benefit until the grounds of the original disallowance have ceased to exist;

(g) for enabling one person to act for another in relation to a claim for a benefit to which this section applies (including in particular, in the case of a benefit to be claimed by persons jointly, enabling one person to claim for such persons jointly) and for enabling such a claim to be made and proceeded with in the name of a person who has died;

(h) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(hh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(i) for the person to whom, time when and manner in which a benefit to which this section applies is to be paid and for the information and evidence to be furnished in connection with the payment of such a benefit;

(j) for notice to be given of any change of circumstances affecting the continuance of entitlement to such a benefit or payment of such a benefit or of any other change of circumstance of a prescribed description ;

(k) for the day on which entitlement to such a benefit is to begin or end;

(l) for calculating the amounts of such a benefit according to a prescribed scale or otherwise adjusting them so as to avoid fractional amounts or facilitate computation;

(m) for extinguishing the right to payment of such a benefit if payment is not obtained within such period, not being less than 12 months, as may be prescribed from the date on which the right is treated under the regulations as having arisen;

(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(p) for the circumstances and manner in which payments of such a benefit may be made to another person on behalf of the beneficiary for any purpose, which may be to discharge, in whole or in part, an obligation of the beneficiary or any other person;

(q) for the payment or distribution of such a benefit to or among persons claiming to be entitled on the death of any person and for dispensing with strict proof of their title;

(r) for the making of a payment on account of such a benefit—

(i) where no claim has been made and it is impracticable for one to be made immediately;

(ii) where a claim has been made and it is impracticable for the claim or an appeal, reference, review or application relating to it to be immediately determined;

(iii) where an award has been made but it is impracticable to pay the whole immediately

for the making of a payment on account of such a benefit—

(i) in cases where it is impracticable for a claim to be made or determined immediately, or for an award to be determined or paid in full immediately,

(ii) in cases of need, or

(iii) in cases where the Secretary of State considers in accordance with prescribed criteria that the payment can reasonably be expected to be recovered;

(1A) Regulations may make provision for requiring a person of a prescribed description to supply any information or evidence which is, or could be, relevant to—

(a) a claim or award relating to a benefit to which this section applies, or

(b) potential claims or awards relating to such a benefit.

(2) This section applies to the following benefits—

(za) universal credit;

(zb) state pension or a lump sum under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(zc) bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(a) benefits as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(aa) a jobseeker's allowance;

(ab) state pension credit

(ac) an employment and support allowance;

(ad) personal independence payment;

(b) income support;

(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) housing benefit;

(f) any social fund payments such as are mentioned in section 138(1)(a) or (2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(fa) health in pregnancy grant;

(g) child benefit; and

(h) Christmas bonus.

(2A) The regulations may also require such persons as are prescribed to provide a rent officer with information or evidence of such description as is prescribed.

(2B) For the purposes of subsection (2A), the Secretary of State may prescribe any description of information or evidence which he thinks is necessary or expedient to enable rent officers to carry out their functions under section 122 of the Housing Act 1996.

(2C) Information or evidence required to be provided by virtue of subsection (2A) may relate to an individual claim or award or to any description of claims or awards.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3B) The power in subsection (1)(i) above to make provision for the person to whom a benefit is to be paid includes, in the case of a benefit awarded to persons jointly, power to make provision for the Secretary of State to determine to which of them all or any part of a payment should be made, and in particular for the Secretary of State—

(a) to determine that payment should be made to whichever of those persons they themselves nominate, or

(b) to determine that payment should be made to one of them irrespective of any nomination by them.

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) Subsection (1)(g), (i), (1)(p) and (q) above shall have effect as if statutory sick pay , statutory maternity pay , statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay , statutory shared parental pay , statutory parental bereavement pay and statutory neonatal care pay were benefits to which this section applies.

(6) As it has effect in relation to universal credit or housing benefit subsection (1)(p) above authorises provision requiring the making of payments of benefit to another person, on behalf of the beneficiary, in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

Community charge benefits etc.

6 Regulations about community charge benefits administration

(1) Regulations may provide as follows as regards council tax benefit —

(a) for requiring a claim for a benefit to be made by such person, in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed;

(b) for treating a claim made in such circumstances as may be prescribed as having been made at such date earlier or later than that at which it is made as may be prescribed;

(c) for permitting a claim to be made, or treated as if made, for a period wholly or partly after the date on which it is made;

(d) for permitting an award on a claim to be made for such a period subject to the condition that the claimant satisfies the requirements for entitlement when benefit becomes payable, or any right to a reduction ... becomes available, under the award;

(e) for a review of any award if those requirements are found not to have been satisfied;

(f) for the disallowance on any ground of a person's claim for a benefit to be treated as a disallowance of any further claim by that person for that benefit until the grounds of the original disallowance have ceased to exist;

(g) for enabling one person to act for another in relation to a claim for a benefit and for enabling such a claim to be made and proceeded with in the name of a person who has died;

(h) for requiring any information or evidence needed for the determination of a claim or of any question arising in connection with a claim to be furnished by such person as may be prescribed in accordance with the regulations;

(hh) for requiring such person as may be prescribed in accordance with the regulations to furnish any information or evidence needed for a determination whether a decision on an award of a benefit—

(i) should be revised under paragraph 3 of Schedule 7 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000; or

(ii) should be superseded under paragraph 4 of that Schedule;

(i) for the time when and manner in which any benefit (or part) which takes the form of a payment is to be paid, and for the information and evidence to be furnished in connection with the payment;

(j) for the time when the right to make a reduction ... may be exercised;

(k) for notice to be given of any change of circumstances affecting the continuance of entitlement to a benefit;

(l) for the day on which entitlement to a benefit is to begin or end;

(m) for calculating the amount of a benefit according to a prescribed scale or otherwise adjusting it so as to avoid fractional amounts or facilitate computation;

(n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(o) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(p) in the case of any benefit (or part) which takes the form of a payment, for payment or distribution to or among persons claiming to be entitled on the death of any person, and for dispensing with strict proof of their title;

(q) in the case of any benefit (or part) which takes the form of a payment, for the circumstances and manner in which payment may be made to one person on behalf of another for any purpose, which may be to discharge, in whole or in part, an obligation of the person entitled to the benefit or any other person;

(r) for making a payment on account of a benefit, or conferring a right to make a reduction ... on account, where no claim has been made and it is impracticable for one to be made immediately;

(s) for making a payment on account of a benefit, or conferring a right to make a reduction ... on account, where a claim has been made but it is impracticable for the claim or an appeal, reference, review or application relating to it to be determined immediately;

(t) for making a payment on account of a benefit, or conferring a right to make a reduction ... on account, where an award has been made but it is impracticable to institute the benefit immediately;

(u) generally as to administration.

(2) Regulations under this section may include provision in relation to council tax benefit that prescribed provisions shall apply instead of prescribed provisions of Part I or II of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, or that prescribed provisions of either of those Parts shall not apply or shall apply subject to prescribed amendments or adaptations.

(3) References in subsection (2) above to either of the Parts there mentioned include references to regulations made under the Part concerned.

7 Relationship between community charge benefits and other benefits

(1) Regulations may provide for a claim for one relevant benefit to be treated, either in the alternative or in addition, as a claim for any other relevant benefit that may be prescribed.

(2) Regulations may provide for treating a payment made or right conferred by virtue of regulations—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) under section 6(l)(r) to (t) above,

as made or conferred on account of any relevant benefit that is subsequently awarded or paid.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) above relevant benefits are—

(a) any benefit to which section 5 above applies; and

(b) council tax benefit .

Sharing of functions as regards certain claims and information

7A Sharing of functions as regards certain claims and information

(1) Regulations may, for the purpose of supplementing the persons or bodies to whom claims for relevant benefits may be made, make provision—

(a) as regards housing benefit or council tax benefit, for claims for that benefit to be made to—

(i) a Minister of the Crown, or

(ii) a person providing services to a Minister of the Crown;

(b) as regards any other relevant benefit, for claims for that benefit to be made to—

(i) a local authority,

(ii) a person providing services to a local authority, or

(iii) a person authorised to exercise any function of a local authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(c) as regards any relevant benefit, for claims for that benefit to be made to—

(i) a county council in England,

(ii) a person providing services to a county council in England, or

(iii) a person authorised to exercise any function a county council in England has under this section.

(2) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with—

(a) the forwarding by a relevant authority of—

(i) claims received by virtue of any provision authorised by subsection (1) above, and

(ii) information or evidence supplied in connection with making such claims (whether supplied by persons making the claims or by other persons);

(b) the receiving and forwarding by a relevant authority of information or evidence relating to social security or work matters supplied by, or the obtaining by a relevant authority of such information or evidence from—

(i) persons making, or who have made, claims for a relevant benefit, or

(ii) other persons in connection with such claims

including information or evidence not relating to the claims or benefit in question;

(c) the recording by a relevant authority of information or evidence relating to social security or work matters supplied to, or obtained by, the authority and the holding by the authority of such information or evidence (whether as supplied or obtained or as recorded);

(d) the giving of information or advice with respect to social security or work matters by a relevant authority to persons making, or who have made, claims for a relevant benefit;

(e) the verification by a relevant authority of information or evidence supplied to or obtained by the authority in connection with a claim for or an award of a relevant benefit.

(3) In paragraphs (b) , (d) and (e) of subsection (2) above—

(a) references to claims for a relevant benefit are to such claims whether made as mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) above or not; and

(b) references to persons who have made such claims include persons to whom awards of benefit have been made on the claims.

(4) Regulations under this section may make different provision for different areas.

(5) Regulations under any other enactment may make such different provision for different areas as appears to the Secretary of State expedient in connection with any exercise by regulations under this section of the power conferred by subsection (4) above.

(6) In this section—

(a) “ benefit ” includes child support or a war pension (any reference to a claim being read, in relation to child support, as a reference to an application (or an application treated as having been made) under the Child Support Act 1991 for a maintenance calculation );

(b) “ local authority ” means an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(c) “ relevant authority ” means—

(i) a Minister of the Crown;

(ii) a local authority;

(iii) a county council in England;

(iv) a person providing services to a person mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii);

(v) a person authorised to exercise any function of a local authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(vi) a person authorised to exercise any function a county council in England has under this section;

(d) “ relevant benefit ” means housing benefit, council tax benefit or any other benefitprescribed for the purposes of this section;

(e) “ social security or work matters ” means matters relating to—

(i) social security, child support or war pensions, or

(ii) employment or training;

and in this subsection “war pension” means a war pension within the meaning of section 25 of the Social Security Act 1989 (establishment and functions of war pensions committees).

7B Use of social security information

(1) A relevant authority may use for a relevant purpose any social security information which it holds.

(2) Regulations may make provision as to the procedure to be followed by a relevant authority for the purposes of any function it has relating to the administration of a specified benefit if the authority holds social security information which—

(a) is relevant for the purposes of anything which may or must be done by the authority in connection with a claim for or an award of the benefit, and

(b) was used by another relevant authority in connection with a claim for or an award of a different specified benefit or was verified by that other authority in accordance with regulations under section 7A(2)(e) above.

(3) A relevant purpose is anything which is done in relation to a claim which is made or which could be made for a specified benefit if it is done for the purpose of—

(a) identifying persons who may be entitled to such a benefit;

(b) encouraging or assisting a person to make such a claim;

(c) advising a person in relation to such a claim.

(4) Social security information means—

(a) information relating to social security, child support or war pensions;

(b) evidence obtained in connection with a claim for or an award of a specified benefit.

(5) A specified benefit is a benefit which is specified in regulations for the purposes of this section.

(6) Expressions used in this section and in section 7A have the same meaning in this section as in that section.

(7) This section does not affect any power which exists apart from this section to use for one purpose social security information obtained in connection with another purpose.

Industrial injuries benefit

8 Notification of accidents, etc

Regulations may provide—

(a) for requiring the prescribed notice of an accident in respect of which industrial injuries benefit may be payable to be given within the prescribed time by the employed earner to the earner's employer or other prescribed persons;

(b) for requiring employers—

(i) to make reports, to such person and on such form and within such time as may be prescribed, of accidents in respect of which industrial injuries benefit may be payable;

(ii) to furnish to the prescribed person any information required for the determination of claims, or of questions arising in connection with claims or awards;

(iii) to take such other steps as may be prescribed to facilitate the giving notice of accidents, the making of claims and the determination of claims and of questions so arising.

9 Medical examination and treatment of claimants

(1) Regulations may provide for requiring claimants for disablement benefit—

(a) to submit themselves from time to time to medical examination for the purpose of determining the effect of the relevant accident, or the treatment appropriate to the relevant injury or loss of faculty;

(b) to submit themselves from time to time to appropriatemedical treatment for the injury or loss of faculty.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) above requiring persons to submit themselves to a medical examination or treatment may—

(a) require those persons to attend at such places and at such times as may be required; and

(b) with the consent of the Treasury provide for the payment by the Secretary of State to those persons of travelling and other allowances (including compensation for loss of remunerative time).

10 Obligations of claimants

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, regulations may provide for disqualifying a claimant for the receipt of industrial injuries benefit—

(a) for failure without good cause to comply with any requirement of regulations to which this subsection applies (including in the case of a claim for industrial death benefit, a failure on the part of some other person to give the prescribed notice of the relevant accident);

(b) for wilful obstruction of, or other misconduct in connection with, any examination or treatment to which he is required under regulations to which this subsection applies to submit himself, or in proceedings under this Act for the determination of his right to benefit or to its receipt,

or for suspending proceedings on the claim or payment of benefit as the case may be, in the case of any such failure, obstruction or misconduct.

(2) The regulations to which subsection (1) above applies are—

(a) any regulations made by virtue of section 5(1)(h), (i) or (1) above, so far as relating to industrial injuries benefit; and

(b) regulations made by virtue of section 8 or 9 above.

(3) Regulations under subsection (1) above providing for disqualification for the receipt of benefit for any of the following matters, that is to say—

(a) for failure to comply with the requirements of regulations under section 9(1) or (2) above;

(b) for obstruction of, or misconduct in connection with, medical examination or treatment,

shall not be made so as to disentitle a claimant to a benefit for a period exceeding 6 weeks on any disqualification.

Disabled person's tax credit

11 Initial claims and repeat claims

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The social fund

12 Necessity of application for certain payments

(1) A social fund payment such as is mentioned in section 138(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act may be awarded to a person only if an application for such a payment has been made by him or on his behalf in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) make provision with respect to the time at which an application for such a social fund payment is to be treated as made;

(b) prescribe conditions that must be satisfied before any determination in connection with such an application may be made or any award of such a payment may be paid;

(c) prescribe circumstances in which such an award becomes extinguished.

Health in pregnancy grant

12A Necessity of application for health in pregnancy grant

(1) No person is entitled to health in pregnancy grant unless she claims it in the manner, and within the time, prescribed in relation to health in pregnancy grant by regulations under section 5.

(2) No person is entitled to health in pregnancy grant unless subsection (3) or (4) is satisfied in relation to her.

(3) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if her claim for health in pregnancy grant is accompanied by—

(a) a statement of her national insurance number and information or evidence establishing that that number has been allocated to her; or

(b) information or evidence enabling the national insurance number that has been allocated to her to be ascertained.

(4) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if she makes an application for a national insurance number to be allocated to her which is accompanied by information or evidence enabling a national insurance number to be allocated to her.

(5) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may by regulations make provision disapplying subsection (2) in the case of prescribed descriptions of persons making a claim.

Child benefit

13 Necessity of application for child benefit

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall be entitled to child benefit unless he claims it in the manner, and within the time, prescribed in relation to child benefit by regulations under section 5 above.

(1A) No person shall be entitled to child benefit unless subsection (1B) below is satisfied in relation to him.

(1B) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if—

(a) his claim for child benefit is accompanied by—

(i) a statement of his national insurance number and information or evidence establishing that that number has been allocated to him; or

(ii) information or evidence enabling the national insurance number that has been allocated to him to be ascertained; or

(b) he makes an application for a national insurance number to be allocated to him which is accompanied by information or evidence enabling such a number to be so allocated.

(1C) Regulations may make provision disapplying subsection (1A) above in the case of—

(a) prescribed descriptions of persons making claims; or

(b) prescribed descriptions of children or qualifying young persons in respect of whom child benefit is claimed,

or in other prescribed circumstances.

(2) Except where regulations otherwise provide, no person shall be entitled to child benefit for any week on a claim made by him after that week if child benefit in respect of the same child or qualifying young person has already been paid for that week to another person, whether or not that other person was entitled to it.

13A Election not to receive child benefit

(1) A person (“P”) who is entitled to childbenefit in respect of one or more children may elect for all payments of the benefit to which P is entitled not to be made.

(2) An election may be made only if P reasonably expects that, in the absence of the election, P or another person would be liable to a high income childbenefit charge in respect of the payments to which the election relates made for weeks in the first tax year.

(3) An election has effect in relation to payments made for weeks beginning after the election is made.

(4) But where entitlement to childbenefit is backdated, an election may have effect in relation to payments for weeks beginning in the period of three months ending immediately before the claim for the benefit was made.

(5) An election may be revoked.

(6) A revocation has effect in relation to payments made for weeks beginning after the revocation is made.

(7) But if—

(a) P makes an election which results in all payments, in respect of childbenefit, to which P is entitled for one or more weeks in a tax year not being paid, and

(b) had no election been made, neither P nor any other person would have been liable to a high income childbenefit charge in relation to the payments,

P may, no later than two years after the end of the tax year, revoke the election so far as it relates to the payments.

(8) Subsections (2) to (7) are subject to directions under subsection (9).

(9) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may give directions as to—

(a) the form of elections and revocations under this section, the manner in which they are to be made and the time at which they are to be treated as made, and

(b) the circumstances in which, if childbenefit is not being paid to a person at the full rate or the Commissioners are satisfied that there are doubts as to a person's entitlement to childbenefit for a child, an election or revocation is not to have effect or its effect is to be postponed.

(10) For the purposes of this section—

• “ child ” includes a qualifying young person;

• “ first tax year ”, in relation to an election, means the tax year in which the first week beginning after the election is made falls;

• “ week ” means a period of 7 days beginning with a Monday; and a week is in a tax year if (and only if) the Monday with which it begins is in the tax year.

Statutory Sick pay

14 Duties of employees etc. in relation to statutory sick pay

(1) Any employee who claims to be entitled to statutory sick pay from his employer shall, if so required by his employer, provide such information as may reasonably be required for the purpose of determining the duration of the period of entitlement in question or whether a period of entitlement exists as between them.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations made with the concurrence of the Inland Revenue direct—

(a) that medical information required under subsection (1) above shall, in such cases as may be prescribed, be provided in a prescribed form;

(b) that an employee shall not be required under subsection (1) above to provide medical information in respect of such days as may be prescribed in a period of incapacity for work.

(3) Where an employee asks an employer of his to provide him with a written statement, in respect of a period before the request is made, of one or more of the following—

(a) the days within that period which the employer regards as days in respect of which he is liable to pay statutory sick pay to that employee;

(b) the reasons why the employer does not so regard the other days in that period;

(c) the employer's opinion as to the amount of statutory sick pay to which the employee is entitled in respect of each of those days,

the employer shall, to the extent to which the request was reasonable, comply with it within a reasonable time.

Statutory maternity pay

15 Duties of women etc. in relation to statutory maternity pay

(1) A woman shall provide the person who is liable to pay her statutory maternity pay—

(a) with evidence as to her pregnancy and the expected date of confinement in such form and at such time as may be prescribed; and

(b) where she commences work after her confinement but within the maternity pay period, with such additional information as may be prescribed.

(1A) Any regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) above must be made with the concurrence of the Inland Revenue.

(2) Where a woman asks an employer or former employer of hers to provide her with a written statement, in respect of a period before the request is made, of one or more of the following—

(a) the weeks within that period which he regards as weeks in respect of which he is liable to pay statutory maternity pay to the women;

(b) the reasons why he does not so regard the other weeks in that period; and

(c) his opinion as to the amount of statutory maternity pay to which the woman is entitled in respect of each of the weeks in respect of which he regards himself as liable to make a payment,

the employer or former employer shall, to the extent to which the request was reasonable, comply with it within a reasonable time.

Payments in respect of mortgage interest etc

15A Payment out of benefit of sums in respect of mortgage interest etc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expenses in respect of vehicle hire etc.

15B Expenses of paying sums in respect of vehicle hire etc.

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a relevant benefit component is payable in respect of a person (“ the beneficiary ”),

(b) an agreement has been entered into by or on behalf of the beneficiary with a relevant provider for the lease or hire purchase of a motor vehicle, and

(c) by virtue of regulations under section 5(1), the Secretary of State pays all or part of the relevant benefit component to the relevant provider for the purpose of discharging, in whole or in part, an obligation of the beneficiary under the agreement.

(2) Regulations may make provision—

(a) for the expenses of the Secretary of State in administering the making of payments to relevant providers to be defrayed, in whole or in part, at the expense of relevant providers, whether by requiring them to pay prescribed fees or by deducting and retaining a prescribed part of the payments that would otherwise be made to them or by such other method as may be prescribed;

(b) for the recovery from a relevant provider of any fees or other sums due from that provider under paragraph (a).

(3) In this section—

• “ relevant benefit component ” means—

  (a)

  the mobility component of disability living allowance, if it is payable at the higher rate (see section 73(11)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act), or

  (b)

  the mobility component of personal independence payment, if it is payable at the enhanced rate (see section 79(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012);

• “ relevant provider ” means a person whose business consists of or includes the supply by way of lease or hire purchase of motor vehicles to persons in respect of whom a relevant benefit component is payable.

Emergency payments

16 Emergency payments by local authorities and other bodies

(1) The Secretary of State may make arrangements—

(a) with a local authority to which this section applies; or

(b) with any other body,

for the making on his behalf by members of the staff of any such authority or body of payments on account of benefits to which section 5 above applies in circumstances corresponding to those in which the Secretary of State himself has the power to make such payments under subsection (1)(r) of that section; and a local authority to which this section applies shall have power to enter into any such arrangements.

(2) A payment under any such arrangements shall be treated for the purposes of any Act of Parliament or instrument made under an Act of Parliament as if it had been made by the Secretary of State.

(3) The Secretary of State shall repay a local authority or other body such amount as he determines to be the reasonable administrative expenses incurred by the authority or body in making payments in accordance with arrangements under this section.

(4) The local authorities to which this section applies are—

(a) a local authority as defined by section 270(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, other than a parish or community council;

(b) the Common Council of the City of London; and

(c) a local authority as defined in section 235(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Part II Adjudication

Adjudication by the Secretary of State

17 Questions for the Secretary of State

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 Appeal on question of law

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19 Review of decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjudication by adjudication officers

20 Claims and questions to be submitted to adjudication officer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21 Decision of adjudication officer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appeals from adjudication officers—general

22 Appeal to social security appeal tribunal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23 Appeal from social security appeal tribunal to Commissioner

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24 Appeal from Commissioners on point of law

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reviews—general

25 Review of decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26 Procedure for reviews

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27 Reviews under s. 25—supplementary

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28 Appeals following reviews or refusals to review

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29 Review after claimant appeals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Attendance allowance, disability living allowance and disability working allowance

30 Reviews of decisions of adjudication officers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31 Further reviews

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32 Reviews of decisions as to attendance allowance, disability living allowance or disability working allowance—supplementary

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33 Appeals following reviews

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

34 Appeal from social security appeal tribunals or disability appeal tribunals to Commissioners and appeals from Commissioners

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 Reviews of decisions on appeal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Questions first arising on appeal

36 Questions first arising on appeal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reference of special questions

37 Reference of special questions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjudication officers and the Chief Adjudication Officer

38 Adjudication officers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39 The Chief Adjudication Officer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social security appeal tribunals

40 Panels for appointment to social security appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41 Constitution of social security appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Disability appeal tribunals

42 Panels for appointment to disability appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43 Constitution of disability appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjudication in relation to industrial injuries and disablement benefit

44 Declaration that accident is an industrial accident

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45 Disablement questions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46 Medical appeals and references

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

47 Review of medical decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48 Appeal etc. on question of law to Commissioner

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjudicating medical practitioners and medical appeal tribunals

49 Adjudicating medical practitioners

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50 Constitution of medical appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The President and full-time chairmen of tribunals

51 The President of social security appeal tribunals, medical appeal tribunals and disability appeal tribunals and regional chairmen and other full-time chairmen

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social Security Commissioners

52 Appointment of Commissioners

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

References by authorities

53 Power of adjudicating authorities to refer matters to experts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

54 Claims relating to attendance allowance, disability living allowance and disability working allowance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55 Medical examination etc. in relation to appeals to disability appeal tribunals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Determination of questions of special difficulty

56 Assessors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

57 Tribunal of three Commissioners

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Medical examinations

57A Medical examinations of persons awarded attendance allowance or disability living allowance.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Regulations

58 Regulations as to determination of questions and matters arising out of, or pending, reviews and appeals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

59 Procedure

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

60 Finality of decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61 Regulations about supplementary matters relating to determinations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Incapacity for work

61A Adjudication: incapacity for work.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Industrial diseases

62 Adjudication as to industrial diseases

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Housing benefit and community charge benefits

63 Adjudication

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social fund officers and inspectors and the social fund Commissioner

64 Social fund officers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

65 The social fund Commissioner and inspectors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

66 Reviews

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Christmas bonus

67 Determination of questions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Restrictions on entitlement to benefit following erroneous decision

68 Restrictions on entitlement to benefit in certain cases of error

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

69 Determination of questions on review following erroneous decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Correction of errors

70 Regulations as to correction of errors and setting aside of decisions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part III Overpayments and adjustments of Benefit

Misrepresentation etc

71 Overpayments—general

(1) Where it is determined that, whether fraudulently or otherwise, any person has misrepresented, or failed to disclose, any material fact and in consequence of the misrepresentation or failure—

(a) a payment has been made in respect of a benefit to which this section applies; or

(b) any sum recoverable by or on behalf of the Secretary of State in connection with any such payment has not been recovered,

the Secretary of State shall be entitled to recover the amount of any payment which he would not have made or any sum which he would have received but for the misrepresentation or failure to disclose.

(2) Where any such determination as is referred to in subsection (1) above is made, the person making the determination shall in the case of the Secretary of State or the First-tier Tribunal , and may in the case of the Upper Tribunal or a court —

(a) determine whether any, and if so what, amount is recoverable under that subsection by the Secretary of State, and

(b) specify the period during which that amount was paid to the person concerned.

(3) An amount recoverable under subsection (1) above is in all cases recoverable from the person who misrepresented the fact or failed to disclose it.

(4) In relation to cases where payments of benefit to which this section applies have been credited to a bank account or other account under arrangements made with the agreement of the beneficiary or a person acting for him, circumstances may be prescribed in which the Secretary of State is to be entitled to recover any amount paid in excess of entitlement; but any such regulations shall not apply in relation to any payment unless before he agreed to the arrangements such notice of the effect of the regulations as may be prescribed was given in such manner as may be prescribed to the beneficiary or to a person acting for him.

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5A) Except where regulations otherwise provide, an amount shall not be recoverable under subsection (1) or under regulations under subsection (4) unless the determination in pursuance of which it was paid has been reversed or varied on an appeal or has been revised under section 9 or superseded under section 10 of the Social Security Act 1998 .

(6) Regulations may provide—

(a) that amounts recoverable under subsection (1) above or regulations under subsection (4) above shall be calculated or estimated in such manner and on such basis as may be prescribed;

(b) for treating any amount paid to any person under an award which it is subsequently determined was not payable—

(i) as properly paid; or

(ii) as paid on account of a payment which it is determined should be or should have been made,

and for reducing or withholding any arrears payable by virtue of the subsequent determination;

(c) for treating any amount paid to one person in respect of another as properly paid for any period for which it is not payable in cases where in consequence of a subsequent determination—

(i) the other person is himself entitled to a payment for that period; or

(ii) a third person is entitled in priority to the payee to a payment for that period in respect of the other person, and for reducing or withholding any arrears payable for that period by virtue of the subsequent determination.

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) Where any amount paid ... is recoverable under—

(a) subsection (1) above;

(b) regulations under subsection (4) ... above; or

(c) section 74 below,

it may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered by deduction from prescribedbenefits.

(9) Where any amount paid in respect of a couple is recoverable as mentioned in subsection (8) above, it may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, by deduction from prescribedbenefits payable to either of them.

(9A) Regulations may provide for amounts recoverable under the provisions mentioned in subsection (8) above to be recovered by deductions from earnings.

(9B) In subsection (9A) above “earnings” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(9C) Regulations under subsection (9A) above may include provision—

(a) requiring the person from whom an amount is recoverable (“ the beneficiary ”) to disclose details of their employer, and any change of employer, to the Secretary of State;

(b) requiring the employer, on being served with a notice by the Secretary of State, to make deductions from the earnings of the beneficiary and to pay corresponding amounts to the Secretary of State;

(c) as to the matters to be contained in such a notice and the period for which a notice is to have effect;

(d) as to how payment is to be made to the Secretary of State;

(e) as to a level of earnings below which earnings must not be reduced;

(f) allowing the employer, where the employer makes deductions, to deduct a prescribed sum from the beneficiary's earnings in respect of the employer's administrative costs;

(g) requiring the employer to keep records of deductions;

(h) requiring the employer to notify the Secretary of State if the beneficiary is not, or ceases to be, employed by the employer;

(i) creating a criminal offence for non-compliance with the regulations, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale;

(j) with respect to the priority as between a requirement to deduct from earnings under this section and—

(i) any other such requirement;

(ii) an order under any other enactment relating to England and Wales which requires deduction from the beneficiary's earnings;

(iii) any diligence against earnings.

(10) Any amount recoverable under the provisions mentioned in subsection (8) above—

(a) if the person from whom it is recoverable resides in England and Wales and the county court so orders, shall be recoverable under section 85 of the County Courts Act 1984 or otherwise as if it were payable under an order of that court; and

(b) if he resides in Scotland, shall be enforced in like manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

(10A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(10B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(11) This section applies to the following benefits—

(za) state pension or a lump sum under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(a) benefits as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(aa) subject to section 71A below, a jobseeker’s allowance;

(ab) state pension credit;

(ac) an employment and support allowance;

(ad) personal independence payment;

(ae) bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(b) ... , income support;

(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) any social fund payments such as are mentioned in section 138(1)(a) or (2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act; and

(ea) health in pregnancy grant; and

(f) child benefit.

(12) In this section, “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

71ZA Overpayments out of social fund

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, section 71 above shall apply in relation to social fund payments to which this section applies as it applies in relation to payments made in respect of benefits to which that section applies.

(2) Section 71 above as it so applies shall have effect as if—

(a) in ... subsection (5A), for the words “reversed or varied on an appeal or has been revised under section 9 or superseded under section 10” there were substituted the words “revised on a review under section 38”;

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) subsections (7), (10A) and (10B) were omitted.

(2A) Subsection (9A) of section 71 above as it so applies shall have effect as if the reference to amounts recoverable under the provisions mentioned in subsection (8) of that section were to amounts recoverable under subsections (1) and (4) of that section by virtue of subsection (1) above.

(3) This section applies to social fund payments such as are mentioned in section 138(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

Recovery of benefit payments

71ZB Recovery of overpayments of certain benefits

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount of the following paid in excess of entitlement—

(a) universal credit,

(b) jobseeker's allowance,

(c) employment and support allowance, and

(d) except in prescribed circumstances, housing credit (within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002).

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) An amount paid in pursuance of a determination is not recoverable under this section unless the determination has been—

(a) reversed or varied on an appeal, or

(b) revised or superseded under section 9 or section 10 of the Social Security Act 1998,

except where regulations otherwise provide.

(4) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(5) Where an amount of universal credit is paid for the sole reason that a payment by way of prescribed income is made after the date which is the prescribed date for payment of that income, that amount is for the purposes of this section paid in excess of entitlement.

(6) In the case of a benefit referred to in subsection (1) which is awarded to persons jointly, an amount paid to one of those persons may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(7) An amount recoverable under this section may (without prejudice to any other means of recovery) be recovered—

(a) by deduction from benefit (section 71ZC);

(b) by deduction from earnings (section 71ZD);

(c) through the courts etc (section 71ZE);

(d) by adjustment of benefit (section 71ZF).

71ZC Deduction from benefit

(1) An amount recoverable from a person under section 71ZB may be recovered by deducting the amount from payments of prescribedbenefit.

(2) Where an amount recoverable from a person under section 71ZB was paid to the person on behalf of another, subsection (1) authorises its recovery from the person by deduction—

(a) from prescribedbenefits to which the person is entitled,

(b) from prescribedbenefits paid to the person to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to that person by the person on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid, or

(c) from prescribedbenefits paid to the person to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to that person by any other person.

(3) Where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in prescribed circumstances be taken to be discharged by the amount of the deduction.

(4) Where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (2), the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in all cases be taken to be so discharged.

71ZD Deduction from earnings

(1) Regulations may provide for amounts recoverable under section 71ZB to be recovered by deductions from earnings.

(2) In this section “earnings” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations under subsection (1) may include provision—

(a) requiring the person from whom an amount is recoverable (“ the beneficiary ”) to disclose details of their employer, and any change of employer, to the Secretary of State;

(b) requiring the employer, on being served with a notice by the Secretary of State, to make deductions from the earnings of the beneficiary and to pay corresponding amounts to the Secretary of State;

(c) as to the matters to be contained in such a notice and the period for which a notice is to have effect;

(d) as to how payment is to be made to the Secretary of State;

(e) as to a level of earnings below which earnings must not be reduced;

(f) allowing the employer, where the employer makes deductions, to deduct a prescribed sum from the beneficiary's earnings in respect of the employer's administrative costs;

(g) requiring the employer to keep records of deductions;

(h) requiring the employer to notify the Secretary of State if the beneficiary is not, or ceases to be, employed by the employer;

(i) creating a criminal offence for non-compliance with the regulations, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale;

(j) with respect to the priority as between a requirement to deduct from earnings under this section and—

(i) any other such requirement;

(ii) an order under any other enactment relating to England and Wales which requires deduction from the beneficiary's earnings;

(iii) any diligence against earnings.

71ZE Court action etc

(1) Where an amount is recoverable under section 71ZB from a person residing in England and Wales, the amount is, if the county court so orders, recoverable—

(a) under section 85 of the County Courts Act 1984, or

(b) otherwise as if it were payable under an order of the court.

(2) Where an amount is recoverable under section 71ZB from a person residing in Scotland, the amount recoverable may be enforced as if it were payable under an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

(3) Any costs of the Secretary of State in recovering an amount of benefit under this section may be recovered by him as if they were amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

(4) In any period after the coming into force of this section and before the coming into force of section 62 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, subsection (1)(a) has effect as if it read “by execution issued from the county court”.

71ZF Adjustment of benefit

Regulations may for the purpose of the recovery of amounts recoverable under section 71ZB make provision—

(a) for treating any amount paid to a person under an award which it is subsequently determined was not payable—

(i) as properly paid, or

(ii) as paid on account of a payment which it is determined should be or should have been made,

and for reducing or withholding arrears payable by virtue of the subsequent determination;

(b) for treating any amount paid to one person in respect of another as properly paid for any period for which it is not payable in cases where in consequence of a subsequent determination—

(i) the other person is entitled to a payment for that period, or

(ii) a third person is entitled in priority to the payee to a payment for that period in respect of the other person,

and by reducing or withholding any arrears payable for that period by virtue of the subsequent determination.

71ZG Recovery of payments on account

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount paid under section 5(1)(r) (payments on account).

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(4) In the case of a payment on account of a benefit which is awarded to persons jointly, an amount paid to one of those persons may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(5) Sections 71ZC, 71ZD and 71ZE apply in relation to amounts recoverable under this section as to amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

71ZH Recovery of hardship payments etc

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount paid by way of—

(a) a payment under section 28 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (universal credit hardship payments) which is recoverable under that section,

(b) a payment under section 19C of the Jobseekers Act 1995 (jobseeker's allowance hardship payments) which is recoverable under that section,

(c) a payment of a jobseeker's allowance under paragraph 8 or 8A of Schedule 1 to that Act (exemptions), where the allowance is payable at a prescribed rate under paragraph 9 of that Schedule and is recoverable under that paragraph,

(d) a payment of a jobseeker's allowance under paragraph 10 of that Schedule (claims yet to be determined etc) which is recoverable under that paragraph, or

(e) a payment which is recoverable under section 6B(5A)(d) or (7)(d), 7(2A)(d) or (4)(d), 8(3)(aa), (4)(d) or 9(2A)(d) or (4)(d) of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001.

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(4) Where universal credit or a jobseeker's allowance is claimed by persons jointly, an amount paid to one claimant may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(5) Sections 71ZC to 71ZF apply in relation to amounts recoverable under this section as to amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

Jobseeker's allowance

71A Recovery of jobseeker's allowance: severe hardship cases

(1) Where—

(a) a severe hardship direction is revoked; and

(b) it is determined by the Secretary of State that—

(i) whether fraudulently or otherwise, any person has misrepresented, or failed to disclose, any material fact; and

(ii) in consequence of the failure or misrepresentation, payment of a jobseeker's allowance has been made during the relevant period to the person to whom the direction related,

the Secretary of State may determine that he is entitled to recover the amount of the payment.

(2) In this section—

• “ severe hardship direction ” means a direction given under section 16 of the Jobseekers Act 1995; and

• “ the relevant period ” means—

  (a)

  if the revocation is under section 16(3)(a) of that Act, the period beginning with the date of the change of circumstances and ending with the date of the revocation; and

  (b)

  if the revocation is under section 16(3)(b) or (c) of that Act, the period during which the direction was in force.

(3) Where a severe hardship direction is revoked, the Secretary of State may certify whether there has been misrepresentation of a material fact or failure to disclose a material fact.

(4) If the Secretary of State certifies that there has been such misrepresentation or failure to disclose, he may certify—

(a) who made the misrepresentation or failed to make the disclosure; and

(b) whether or not a payment of jobseeker's allowance has been made in consequence of the misrepresentation or failure.

(5) If the Secretary of State certifies that a payment has been made, he may certify the period during which a jobseeker's allowance would not have been paid but for the misrepresentation or failure to disclose.

(6) A certificate under this section shall be conclusive as to any matter certified.

(7) Subsections (3) and (6) to (10) of section 71 above apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under subsection (1) above as they apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under section 71(1) above.

(8) The other provisions of section 71 above do not apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under subsection (1) above.

72 Special provision as to recovery of income support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjustments of benefits

73 Overlapping benefits—general

(1) Regulations may provide for adjusting state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014 or benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act , or a contribution-based jobseeker's allowance, or a contributory employment and support allowance which is payable to or in respect of any person, or the conditions for receipt of that benefit , where—

(a) there is payable in his case any such pension or allowance as is described in subsection (2) below; or

(b) the person is, or is treated under the regulations as, undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution.

(2) Subsection (1)(a) above applies to any pension, allowance or benefit payable out of public funds (including any other benefit as so defined, whether it is of the same or a different description) which is payable to or in respect of—

(a) the person referred to in subsection (1);

(b) that person's wife, husband or civil partner ;

(c) any ... dependant of that person; or

(d) the wife, husband or civil partner of any adult dependant of that person.

(3) Where but for regulations made by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above two persons would both be entitled to an increase of benefit in respect of a third person, regulations may make provision as to their priority.

(4) Regulations may provide for adjusting

(za) state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(a) benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act; ...

(b) a contribution-based jobseeker's allowance, or

(c) a contributory employment and support allowance,

payable to or in respect of any person where there is payable in his case any such benefit as is described in subsection (5) below.

(5) Subsection (4) above applies to any benefit payable under the legislation of any member State which is payable to or in respect of—

(a) the person referred to in that subsection;

(b) that person's wife, husband or civil partner ;

(c) any ... dependant of that person; or

(d) the wife, husband or civil partner of any adult dependant of that person.

(6) Personal independence payment is to be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

74 Income support and other payments

(1) Where—

(a) a payment by way of prescribed income is made after the date which is the prescribed date in relation to the payment; and

(b) it is determined that an amount which has been paid by way of income support , an income-based jobseeker’s allowance , state pension credit or an income-related employment and support allowance would not have been paid if the payment had been made on the prescribed date,

the Secretary of State shall be entitled to recover that amount from the person to whom it was paid.

(2) Where—

(a) a prescribed payment which apart from this subsection falls to be made from public funds in the United Kingdom or under the law of any member State is not made on or before the date which is the prescribed date in relation to the payment; and

(b) it is determined that an amount (“ the relevant amount ”) has been paid by way of universal credit or income support , an income-based jobseeker’s allowance , state pension credit or an income-related employment and support allowance that would not have been paid if the payment mentioned in paragraph (a) above had been made on the prescribed date,

then—

(3) Where—

(a) a person (in this subsection referred to as A) is entitled to any prescribedbenefit for any period in respect of another person (in this subsection referred to as B); and

(b) either—

(i) B has received income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance for that period; or

(ii) B was, during that period, a member of the same family as some person other than A who received income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance for that period; and

(c) the amount of the income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance has been determined on the basis that A has not made payments for the maintenance of B at a rate equal to or exceeding the amount of the prescribedbenefit,

the amount of the prescribedbenefit may, at the discretion of the authority administering it, be abated by the amount by which the amounts paid by way of income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance exceed what it is determined that they would have been had A, at the time the amount of income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance was determined, been making payments for the maintenance of B at a rate equal to the amount of the prescribedbenefit.

(4) Where an amount could have been recovered by abatement by virtue of subsection (2) or (3) above but has not been so recovered, the Secretary of State may recover it otherwise than by way of abatement—

(a) in the case of an amount which could have been recovered by virtue of subsection (2) above, from the person to whom it was paid; and

(b) in the case of an amount which could have been recovered by virtue of subsection (3) above, from the person to whom the prescribedbenefit in question was paid.

(5) Where a payment is made in a currency other than sterling, its value in sterling shall be determined for the purposes of this section in accordance with regulations.

74A Payment of benefit where maintenance payments collected by Secretary of State

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person (“ the claimant ”) is entitled to a benefit to which this section applies;

(b) the Secretary of State is collecting periodical payments of child or spouse maintenance made in respect of the claimant or a member of the claimant's family; and

(c) the inclusion of any such periodical payment in the claimant's relevant income would, apart from this section, have the effect of reducing the amount of the benefit to which the claimant is entitled.

(2) The Secretary of State may, to such extent as he considers appropriate, treat any such periodical payments as not being relevant income for the purposes of calculating the amount of benefit to which the claimant is entitled.

(3) The Secretary of State may, to the extent that any periodical payment collected by him is treated as not being relevant income for those purposes retain the whole or any part of that payment.

(4) Any sum retained by the Secretary of State under subsection (3) shall be paid by him into the Consolidated Fund.

(5) In this section—

• “ child ” means a person under the age of 16;

• “ child maintenance ”, “ spouse maintenance ” and “ relevant income ” have such meaning as may be prescribed;

• “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• “ family ” means—

  (a)

  a couple ;

  (b)

  a couple and a member of the same household for whom one of them is, or both are, responsible and who is a child or a person of a prescribed description;

  (c)

  except in prescribed circumstances, a person who is not a member of a couple and a member of the same household for whom that person is responsible and who is a child or a person of a prescribed description;

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) For the purposes of this section, the Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to the circumstances in which—

(a) persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household;

(b) one person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another.

(7) The benefits to which this section applies are universal credit, income support, an income-based jobseeker's allowance , an income-related employment and support allowance and such other benefits (if any) as may be prescribed.

Housing benefit

75 Overpayments of housing benefit

(1) Except where regulations otherwise provide, any amount of housing benefit determined in accordance with regulations to have been paid in excess of entitlement may be recovered ... either by the Secretary of State or by the authority which paid the benefit.

(2) Regulations may require such an authority to recover such an amount in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(3) An amount recoverable under this section shall be recoverable—

(a) except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, from the person to whom it was paid; and

(b) where regulations so provide, from such other person (as well as, or instead of, the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(4) Any amount recoverable under this section may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered by deduction from prescribedbenefits.

(5) Where an amount paid to a person on behalf of another person is recoverable under this section, subsections (3) and (4) above authorise its recovery from the person to whom it was paid by deduction—

(a) from prescribedbenefits to which he is entitled;

(b) from prescribedbenefits paid to him to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to him by the person on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid; or

(c) from prescribedbenefits paid to him to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to him by any other person.

(6) Where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (5) above, the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in prescribed circumstances be taken to be discharged by the amount of the deduction; and where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (c) of that subsection, the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in all cases be taken to be so discharged.

(7) Where any amount recovered under this section is to be recovered otherwise than by deduction from prescribedbenefits—

(a) if the person from whom it is recoverable resides in England and Wales and the county court so orders, it is recoverable under section 85 of the County Courts Act 1984 or otherwise as if it were payable under an order of that court; and

(b) if he resides in Scotland, it may be enforced in the same manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

(8) Regulations may provide for amounts recoverable under this section to be recovered by deductions from earnings.

(9) In subsection (8) above “earnings“ has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(10) Regulations under subsection (8) above may include provision—

(a) requiring the person from whom an amount is recoverable (“ the beneficiary ”) to disclose details of their employer, and any change of employer, to the Secretary of State or the authority which paid the benefit;

(b) requiring the employer, on being served with a notice by the Secretary of State or the authority which paid the benefit, to make deductions from the earnings of the beneficiary and to pay corresponding amounts to the Secretary of State or that authority;

(c) as to the matters to be contained in such a notice and the period for which a notice is to have effect;

(d) as to how payment is to be made to the Secretary of State or the authority which paid the benefit;

(e) as to a level of earnings below which earnings must not be reduced;

(f) allowing the employer, where the employer makes deductions, to deduct a prescribed sum from the beneficiary's earnings in respect of the employer's administrative costs;

(g) requiring the employer to keep records of deductions;

(h) requiring the employer to notify the Secretary of State or the authority which paid the benefit if the beneficiary is not, or ceases to be, employed by the employer;

(i) creating a criminal offence for non-compliance with the regulations, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale;

(j) with respect to the priority as between a requirement to deduct from earnings under this section and—

(i) any other such requirement;

(ii) an order under any other enactment relating to England and Wales which requires deduction from the beneficiary's earnings;

(iii) any diligence against earnings.

Community charge benefits

76 Excess benefits

(1) Regulations may make provision as to any case where a billing authority or a local authority in Scotland has allowed council tax benefit to a person and the amount allowed exceeds the amount to which he is entitled in respect of the benefit.

(2) ... the regulations may provide that—

(a) a sum equal to the excess shall be due from the person concerned to the authority (whatever the form the benefit takes);

(b) any liability under any provision included under paragraph (a) above shall be met by such method mentioned in subsection (3) below as is prescribed as regards the case concerned, or by such combination of two or all three of the methods ar is prescribed as regards the case concerned.

(3) The methods are—

(a) payment by the person concerned;

(b) addition to any amount payable in respect of council tax ;

(c) deduction from prescribedbenefits.

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) In a case where the regulations provide that a sum or part of a sum is to be paid, and the sum or part is not paid on or before such day as may be prescribed, the regulations may provide that the sum or part shall be recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) The regulations may provide that they are not to apply as regards any case falling within a prescribed category.

77 Shortfall in benefits

(1) Regulations may make provision as to any case where a billing authority or a local authority in Scotland has allowed council tax benefit to a person and the amount allowed is less than the amount to which he is entitled in respect of the benefit.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social fund awards

78 Recovery of social fund awards

(1) A social fund award which is repayable shall be recoverable by the Secretary of State.

(2) Without prejudice to any other method of recovery, the Secretary of State may recover an award by deduction from prescribedbenefits.

(3) The Secretary of State may recover an award—

(a) from the person to or for the benefit of whom it was made;

(b) where that person is a member of a couple , from the other member of the couple;

(c) from a person who is liable to maintain the person by or on behalf of whom the application for the award was made or any person in relation to whose needs the award was made.

(3A) Where—

(a) a jobseeker's allowance is payable to a person from whom an award is recoverable under subsection (3) above; and

(b) that person is subject to a bankruptcy order,

a sum deducted from that benefit under subsection (2) above shall not be treated as income of his for the purposes of the Insolvency Act 1986.

(3B) Where—

(a) a jobseeker's allowance is payable to a person from whom an award is recoverable under subsection (3) above; and

(b) the estate of that person is sequestrated,

a sum deducted from that benefit under subsection (2) above shall not be treated as income of his for the purposes of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 .

(3C) Regulations may provide for amounts recoverable under subsection (1) above from a person specified in subsection (3) above to be recovered by deductions from earnings.

(3D) In subsection (3C) above “earnings” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(3E) Regulations under subsection (3C) above may include provision referred to in section 71(9C) above.

(4) Payments out of the social fund to meet funeral expenses may in all cases be recovered, as if they were funeral expenses, out of the estate of the deceased, and (subject to section 71 above) by no other means.

(5) In this section “ couple ” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

(6) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a man shall be liable to maintain his wife or civil partner and any children of whom he is the father;

(b) a woman shall be liable to maintain her husband or civil partner and any children of whom she is the mother;

(c) a person shall be liable to maintain another person throughout any period in respect of which the first-mentioned person has, on or after 23rd May 1980 (the date of the passing of the Social Security Act 1980) and either alone or jointly with a further person, given an undertaking in writing in pursuance of immigration rules within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971 to be responsible for the maintenance and accommodation of the other person; and

(d) “ child ” includes a person who has attained the age of 16 but not the age of 19 and in respect of whom either parent, or some person acting in the place of either parent, is receiving universal credit, income support or an income-based jobseeker's allowance .

(7) Any reference in subsection (6) above to children of whom the man or the woman is the father or the mother shall be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Family Law Reform Act 1987.

(8) Subsection (7) above does not apply in Scotland, and in the application of subsection (6) above to Scotland any reference to children of whom the man or the woman is the father or the mother shall be construed as a reference to any such children whether or not their parents have ever been married to one another.

(9) A document bearing a certificate which—

(a) is signed by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State; and

(b) states that the document apart from the certificate is, or is a copy of such an undertaking as is mentioned in subsection (6)(c) above, shall be conclusive of the undertaking in question for the purposes of this section; and a certificate purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed until the contrary is proved.

Northern Ireland payments

79 Recovery of Northern Ireland payments

Without prejudice to any other method of recovery—

(a) amounts recoverable under any enactment or instrument having effect in Northern Ireland and corresponding to an enactment or instrument mentioned in section 71(8) above shall be recoverable by deduction from benefitsprescribed under that subsection;

(b) amounts recoverable under any enactment having effect in Northern Ireland and corresponding to section 75 above shall be recoverable by deduction from benefitsprescribed under subsection (4) of that section; and

(c) awards recoverable under Part III of the Northern Ireland Administration Act shall be recoverable by deduction from benefitsprescribed under section 71(8) .

Adjustment of child benefit

80 Child benefit—overlap with benefits under legislation of ... member States

Regulations may provide for adjusting child benefit payable in respect of any child or qualifying young person in respect of whom any benefit is payable under the legislation of any member State .

Part IV Recovery from compensation payments

81 Interpretation of Part IV

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recovery from damages etc. of sums equivalent to benefit

82 Recovery of sums equivalent to benefit from compensation payments in respect of accidents, injuries and diseases

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Payments, deductions and certificates

83 Time for making payment to Secretary of State

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

84 The certificate of total benefit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

85 Exemption from deduction in cases involving small payments

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

86 Multiple compensation payments

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

87 Collaboration between compensators

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

88 Structured settlements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89 Insolvency

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

90 Protection of legal aid charges

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91 Overpaid benefits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

92 Death

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

93 Payments into court

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Administration and adjudication

94 Provision of information

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95 Applications for certificates of total benefit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

96 Liability of compensator unenforceable if certificate not issued within time limit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

97 Review of certificates of total benefit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

98 Appeals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

99 Recovery in consequence of an appeal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100 Recovery of relevant payment in cases of default

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Miscellaneous

101 Persons in Northern Ireland

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

102 Foreign compensators: duties of intended recipient

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

103 Interest on damages: reductions in respect of relevant payments

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

104 The Crown

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part V Income Support and the Duty to Maintain

105 Failure to maintain—general

(1) If—

(a) any person persistently refuses or neglects to maintain himself or any person whom he is liable to maintain; and

(b) in consequence of his refusal or neglect universal credit, income support , an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance is paid to or in respect of him or such a person,

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine of an amount not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or to both.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above a person shall not be taken to refuse or neglect to maintain himself or any other person by reason only of anything done or omitted in furtherance of a trade dispute.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of this Part, a person shall be liable to maintain another person if that other person is—

(a) his or her spouse or civil partner, or

(b) a person whom he or she would be liable to maintain if sections 78(6)(c) and (9) had effect for the purposes of this Part.

(4) For the purposes of this section, in its application to an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance , subsection (3)(b) shall not apply .

106 Recovery of expenditure on benefit from person liable for maintenance

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, if income support or universal credit is claimed by or in respect of a person whom another person is liable to maintain or paid to or in respect of such a person, the Secretary of State may make an application against the liable person to the family court for an order under this section.

(2) On the hearing of an application under this section the court shall have regard to all the circumstances and, in particular, to the income of the liable person, and may order him to pay such sum, weekly or otherwise, as it may consider appropriate, except that in a case falling within section 78(6)(c) above that sum shall not include any amount which is not attributable to income support or universal credit (whether paid before or after the making of the order).

(3) In determining whether to order any payments to be made in respect of income support or universal credit for any period before the application was made, or the amount of any such payments, the court shall disregard any amount by which the liable person's income exceeds the income which was his during that period.

(4) Any payments ordered to be made under this section shall be made—

(a) to the Secretary of State in so far as they are attributable to any income support or universal credit (whether paid before or after the making of the order);

(b) to the person claiming income support or universal credit or (if different) the dependant; or

(c) to such other person as appears to the court expedient in the interests of the dependant.

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to the family court there shall be substituted references to the sheriff.

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

107 Recovery of expenditure on income support: additional amounts and transfer of orders

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

108 Reduction of expenditure on income support: certain maintenance orders to be enforceable by the Secretary of State

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person (“ the claimant ”) who is the parent of one or more children is in receipt of income support or universal credit either in respect of those children or in respect of both himself and those children; and

(b) there is in force a maintenance order made against the other parent (“ the liable person ”)—

(i) in favour of the claimant or one or more of the children, or

(ii) in favour of some other person for the benefit of the claimant or one or more of the children;

and in this section “ the primary recipient ” means the person in whose favour that maintenance order was made.

(2) If, in a case where this section applies, the liable person fails to comply with any of the terms of the maintenance order—

(a) the Secretary of State may bring any proceedings or take any other steps to enforce the order that could have been brought or taken by or on behalf of the primary recipient; and

(b) any court before which proceedings are brought by the Secretary of State by virtue of paragraph (a) above shall have the same powers in connection with those proceedings as it would have had if they had been brought by the primary recipient.

(3) The Secretary of State's powers under this section are exercisable at his discretion and whether or not the primary recipient or any other person consents to their exercise; but any sums recovered by virtue of this section shall be payable to or for the primary recipient, as if the proceedings or steps in question had been brought or taken by him or on his behalf.

(4) The powers conferred on the Secretary of State by subsection (2)(a) above include power—

(a) to apply for the registration of the maintenance order under—

(i) section 17 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950; or

(ii) section 2 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1958; ... ...

(iii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(iv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(aa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

(ab) to apply for recognition and enforcement of the maintenance order under the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and other forms of Family Maintenance done at The Hague on 23rd November 2007, to the extent permitted by Article 36 of that Convention; and

(b) to make an application under section 2 of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972 (application for enforcement in reciprocating country).

(5) Where this section applies, the prescribed person shall in prescribed circumstances give the Secretary of State notice of any application—

(a) to alter, vary, suspend, discharge, revoke, revive or enforce the maintenance order in question; or

(b) to remit arrears under that maintenance order; and the Secretary of State shall be entitled to appear and be heard on the application.

(6) Where, by virtue of this section, the Secretary of State commences any proceedings to enforce a maintenance order, he shall, in relation to those proceedings, be treated for the purposes of any enactment or instrument relating to maintenance orders as if he were a person entitled to payment under the maintenance order in question (but shall not thereby become entitled to any such payment).

(7) Where, in any proceedings under this section in England and Wales, the court makes an order for the whole or any part of the arrears due under the maintenance order in question to be paid as a lump sum, the Secretary of State shall inform the Lord Chancellor of the amount of that lump sum if he knows—

(a) that the primary recipient either—

(i) received legal aid under the Legal Aid Act 1974 in connection with the proceedings in which the maintenance order was made, or

(ii) was an assisted party, within the meaning of the Legal Aid Act 1988, in those proceedings; or

(iii) received services funded by the Legal Services Commission as part of the Community Legal Service; or

(iv) was provided with civil legal services (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) under arrangements made for the purposes of that Part of that Act; and

(b) that a sum remains unpaid on account of the contribution required of the primary recipient—

(i) under section 9 of the Legal Aid Act 1974 in respect of those proceedings, or

(ii) under section 16 of the Legal Aid Act 1988 in respect of the costs of his being represented under Part IV of that Act in those proceedings, or

(iii) by virtue of section 10 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 in respect of services funded by the Legal Services Commission as part of the Community Legal Service, or

(iv) under regulations under section 23 or 24 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 in respect of civil legal services (within the meaning of Part 1 of that Act) provided under arrangements made for the purposes of that Part of that Act,

as the case may be.

(8) In this section “maintenance order”—

(a) in England and Wales, means—

(i) any order for the making of periodical payments which is, or has at any time been, a maintenance order within the meaning of the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971;

(ii) any order under Part 3 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (overseas divorce) for the making of periodical payments;

(iii) any order under Schedule 7 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 for the making of periodical payments;

(b) in Scotland, means any order, except an order for the payment of a lump sum, falling within the definition of “maintenance order” in section 106 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, but disregarding paragraph (h) (alimentary bond or agreement).

(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

109 Diversion of arrested earnings to Secretary of State-Scotland

(1) Where in Scotland a creditor who is enforcing a maintenance order or alimentary bond or agreement by a current maintenance arrestment or a conjoined arrestment order is in receipt of universal credit, income support or an income-related employment and support allowance , the creditor may in writing authorise the Secretary of State to receive any sums payable under the arrestment or order until the creditor ceases to be in receipt of universal credit, income support or an income-related employment and support allowance or in writing withdraws the authorisation, whichever occurs first.

(2) On intimation by the Secretary of State—

(a) to the employer operating the current maintenance arrestment; or

(b) to the sheriff clerk operating the conjoined arrestment order; of an authorisation under subsection (1) above, the employer or sheriff clerk shall, until notified by the Secretary of State that the authorisation has ceased to have effect, pay to the Secretary of State any sums which would otherwise be payable under the arrestment or order to the creditor.

Part VI Enforcement

Inspection and offences

109A Authorisations for investigators

(1) An individual who for the time being has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part shall be entitled, for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) below, to exercise any of the powers which are conferred on an authorised officer by sections 109B and 109C below.

(2) Those purposes are—

(a) ascertaining in relation to any case whether a benefit is or was payable in that case in accordance with any provision of the relevant social security legislation;

(b) investigating the circumstances in which any accident, injury or disease which has given rise, or may give rise, to a claim for—

(i) industrial injuries benefit, or

(ii) any benefit under any provision of the relevant social security legislation, occurred or may have occurred, or was or may have been received or contracted;

(c) ascertaining whether provisions of the relevant social security legislation are being, have been or are likely to be contravened (whether by particular persons or more generally);

(d) preventing, detecting and securing evidence of the commission (whether by particular persons or more generally) of benefit offences.

(3) An individual has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part if, and only if, the Secretary of State has granted him an authorisation for those purposes and he is—

(a) an official of a Government department;

(b) an individual employed by an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(c) an individual employed by an authority or joint committee that carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of the authority administering that benefit; or

(d) an individual employed by a person authorised by or on behalf of any such authority or joint committee as is mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c) above to carry out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit for that authority or committee.

(4) An authorisation granted for the purposes of this Part to an individual of any of the descriptions mentioned in subsection (3) above—

(a) must be contained in a certificate provided to that individual as evidence of his entitlement to exercise powers conferred by this Part;

(b) may contain provision as to the period for which the authorisation is to have effect; and

(c) may restrict the powers exercisable by virtue of the authorisation so as to prohibit their exercise except for particular purposes, in particular circumstances or in relation to particular benefits or particular provisions of the relevant social security legislation.

(5) An authorisation granted under this section may be withdrawn at any time by the Secretary of State.

(6) Where the Secretary of State grants an authorisation for the purposes of this Part to an individual employed by a local authority, or to an individual employed by a person who carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of a local authority—

(a) the Secretary of State and the local authority shall enter into such arrangements (if any) as they consider appropriate with respect to the carrying out of functions conferred on that individual by or in connection with the authorisation granted to him; and

(b) the Secretary of State may make to the local authority such payments (if any) as he thinks fit in respect of the carrying out by that individual of any such functions.

(7) The matters on which a person may be authorised to consider and report to the Secretary of State under section 139A below shall be taken to include the carrying out by any such individual as is mentioned in subsection (3)(b) to (d) above of any functions conferred on that individual by virtue of any grant by the Secretary of State of an authorisation for the purposes of this Part.

(8) The powers conferred by sections 109B and 109C below shall be exercisable in relation to persons holding office under the Crown and persons in the service of the Crown, and in relation to premises owned or occupied by the Crown, as they are exercisable in relation to other persons and premises.

(9) This section and sections 109B to 109C below apply as if—

(a) the Tax Credits Act 2002 were relevant social security legislation, and

(b) accordingly, child tax credit and working tax credit were relevant social security benefits for the purposes of the definition of “benefit offence“.

109B Power to require information

(1) An authorised officer who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person—

(a) is a person falling within subsection (2) or (2A) below, and

(b) has or may have possession of or access to any information about any matter that is relevant for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above,

may, by written notice, require that person to provide all such information described in the notice as is information of which he has possession, or to which he has access, and which it is reasonable for the authorised officer to require for a purpose so mentioned.

(2) The persons who fall within this subsection are—

(a) any person who is or has been an employer or employee within the meaning of any provision made by or under the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(b) any person who is or has been a self-employed earner within the meaning of any such provision;

(c) any person who by virtue of any provision made by or under that Act falls, or has fallen, to be treated for the purposes of any such provision as a person within paragraph (a) or (b) above;

(d) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, any business involving the supply of goods for sale to the ultimate consumers by individuals not carrying on retail businesses from retail premises;

(e) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, any business involving the supply of goods or services by the use of work done or services performed by persons other than employees of his;

(f) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, an agency or other business for the introduction or supply, to persons requiring them, of persons available to do work or to perform services;

(g) any local authority acting in their capacity as an authority responsible for the granting of any licence;

(h) any person who is or has been a trustee or manager of a personal or occupational pension scheme;

(i) any person who is or has been liable to make a compensation payment or a payment to the Secretary of State under section 6 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (payments in respect of recoverable benefits);

(ia) a person of a prescribed description; and

(j) the servants and agents of any such person as is specified in any of paragraphs (a) to (ia) above.

(2A) The persons who fall within this subsection are—

(a) any bank;

(aa) the Director of National Savings;

(b) any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision of credit (whether secured or unsecured) to members of the public;

(c) any insurer;

(d) any credit reference agency (within the meaning given by section 145(8) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39));

(e) any body the principal activity of which is to facilitate the exchange of information for the purpose of preventing or detecting fraud;

(f) any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision to members of the public of a service for transferring money from place to place;

(g) any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker, Scottish Water or any local authority which is to collect charges by virtue of an order under section 37 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 3) ;

(h) any person who—

(i) is the holder of a licence under section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 (c. 44) to convey gas through pipes, or

(ii) is the holder of a licence under section 7A(1) of that Act to supply gas through pipes;

(i) any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) ) distributes or supplies electricity;

(j) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(k) any person conducting any educational establishment or institution;

(l) any body the principal activity of which is to provide services in connection with admissions to educational establishments or institutions;

(m) the Student Loans Company;

(n) any servant or agent of any person mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs.

(2B) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the powers conferred by this section on an authorised officer to require information from any person by virtue of his falling within subsection (2A) above shall be exercisable for the purpose only of obtaining information relating to a particular person identified (by name or description) by the officer.

(2C) An authorised officer shall not, in exercise of those powers, require any information from any person by virtue of his falling within subsection (2A) above unless it appears to that officer that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the identified person to whom it relates is—

(a) a person who has committed, is committing or intends to commit a benefit offence; or

(b) a person who (within the meaning of Part 7 of the Contributions and Benefits Act) is a member of the family of a person falling within paragraph (a) above.

(2D) Nothing in subsection (2B) or (2C) above shall prevent an authorised officer who is an official of a Government department and whose authorisation states that his authorisation applies for the purposes of this subsection from exercising the powers conferred by this section for obtaining from—

(a) a water undertaker or Scottish Water,

(b) any person who (within the meaning the Gas Act 1986) supplies gas conveyed through pipes,

(c) any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989) supplies electricity conveyed by distribution systems, or

(d) any servant or agent of a person mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs,

any information which relates exclusively to whether and in what quantities water, gas or electricity are being or have been supplied to residential premises specified or described in the notice by which the information is required.

(2E) The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercisable so as to secure the disclosure by a telecommunications operator or postal operator of communications data without the consent of the operator.

(2F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) The obligation of a person to provide information in accordance with a notice under this section shall be discharged only by the provision of that information, at such reasonable time and in such form as may be specified in the notice, to the authorised officer who—

(a) is identified by or in accordance with the terms of the notice; or

(b) has been identified, since the giving of the notice, by a further written notice given by the authorised officer who imposed the original requirement or another authorised officer.

(4) The power of an authorised officer under this section to require the provision of information shall include a power to require the production and delivery up and (if necessary) creation of, or of copies of or extracts from, any such documents containing the information as may be specified or described in the notice imposing the requirement.

(5) No one shall be required under this section to provide—

(a) any information that tends to incriminate either himself or, in the case of a person who is married or is a civil partner, his spouse or civil partner ; or

(b) any information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege or, in Scotland, confidentiality as between client and professional legal adviser, would be successful in any proceedings;

and for the purposes of this subsection it is immaterial whether the information is in documentary form or not.

(6) Provision may be made by order—

(a) adding any person to the list of persons falling within subsection (2A) above;

(b) removing any person from the list of persons falling within that subsection;

(c) modifying that subsection for the purpose of taking account of any change to the name of any person for the time being falling within that subsection.

(7) In this section—

• “bank” means—

  (a)

  a person who has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) to accept deposits;

  (b)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or

  (c)

  a person who does not require permission under that Act to accept deposits, in the course of his business in the United Kingdom;

• “ communications data ” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see sections 261 and 262 of that Act);

• “ credit ” includes a cash loan or any form of financial accommodation, including the cashing of a cheque;

• “insurer” means—

  (a)

  a person who has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to effect or carry out contracts of insurance; ...

  (b)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “ postal operator ” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see section 262 of that Act);

• “ residential premises ”, in relation to a supply of water, gas or electricity, means any premises which—

  (a)

  at the time of the supply were premises occupied wholly or partly for residential purposes, or

  (b)

  are premises to which that supply was provided as if they were so occupied; and

• “ telecommunications operator ” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see section 261 of that Act).

(7A) The definitions of “bank” and “insurer” in subsection (7) must be read with—

(a) section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

(b) any relevant order under that section; and

(c) Schedule 2 to that Act.

109BA Power of Secretary of State to require electronic access to information

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, where it appears to the Secretary of State-

(a) that a person falling within section 109B(2A) keeps any electronic records,

(b) that the records contain or are likely, from time to time, to contain information about any matter that is relevant for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above, and

(c) that facilities exist under which electronic access to those records is being provided, or is capable of being provided, by that person to other persons,

the Secretary of State may require that person to enter into arrangements under which authorised officers are allowed such access to those records.

(2) An authorised officer—

(a) shall be entitled to obtain information in accordance with arrangements entered into under subsection (1) above only if his authorisation states that his authorisation applies for the purposes of that subsection; and

(b) shall not seek to obtain any information in accordance with any such arrangements other than information which relates to a particular person and could be the subject of a requirement under section 109B above.

(3) The matters that may be included in the arrangements that a person is required to enter into under subsection (1) above may include-

(a) requirements as to the electronic access to records that is to be made available to authorised officers;

(b) requirements as to the keeping of records of the use that is made of the arrangements;

(c) requirements restricting the disclosure of information about the use that is made of the arrangements; and

(d) such other incidental requirements as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in connection with allowing access to records to authorised officers.

(4) An authorised officer who is allowed access in accordance with any arrangements entered into under subsection (1) above shall be entitled to make copies of, and to take extracts from, any records containing information which he is entitled to require under section 109B.

109C Powers of entry

(1) An authorised officer shall be entitled, at any reasonable time and either alone or accompanied by such other persons as he thinks fit, to enter any premises which—

(a) are liable to inspection under this section; and

(b) are premises to which it is reasonable for him to require entry in order to exercise the powers conferred by this section.

(2) An authorised officer who has entered any premises liable to inspection under this section may—

(a) make such an examination of those premises, and

(b) conduct any such inquiry there,

as appears to him appropriate for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above.

(3) An authorised officer who has entered any premises liable to inspection under this section may—

(a) question any person whom he finds there;

(b) require any person whom he finds there to do any one or more of the following—

(i) to provide him with such information,

(ii) to produce and deliver up and (if necessary) create such documents or such copies of, or extracts from, documents,

as he may reasonably require for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above; and

(c) take possession of and either remove or make his own copies of any such documents as appear to him to contain information that is relevant for any of those purposes.

(4) The premises liable to inspection under this section are any premises (including premises consisting in the whole or a part of a dwelling house) which an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting are—

(a) premises which are a person's place of employment;

(b) premises from which a trade or business is being carried on or where documents relating to a trade or business are kept by the person carrying it on or by another person on his behalf;

(c) premises from which a personal or occupational pension scheme is being administered or where documents relating to the administration of such a scheme are kept by the person administering the scheme or by another person on his behalf;

(d) premises where a person who is the compensator in relation to any such accident, injury or disease as is referred to in section 109A(2)(b) above is to be found;

(e) premises where a person on whose behalf any such compensator has made, may have made or may make a compensation payment is to be found.

(5) An authorised officer applying for admission to any premises in accordance with this section shall, if required to do so, produce the certificate containing his authorisation for the purposes of this Part.

(6) Subsections (2E) and (5) of section 109B apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section.

110 Appointment and powers of inspectors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

110ZA Class 1, 1A, 1B or 2 contributions: powers to call for documents etc

(1) Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 (information and inspection powers) applies for the purpose of checking a person's position as regards relevant contributions as it applies for the purpose of checking a person's tax position, subject to the modifications in subsection (2).

(2) That Schedule applies as if—

(a) references to any provision of the Taxes Acts were to any provision of this Act or the Contributions and Benefits Act or the National Insurance Contributions Act 2014 relating to relevant contributions,

(b) references to prejudice to the assessment or collection of tax were to prejudice to the assessment of liability for, and payment of, relevant contributions,

(c) the reference to information relating to the conduct of a pending appeal relating to tax were a reference to information relating to the conduct of a pending appeal relating to relevant contributions, and

(d) paragraphs 21 , 21A , 35(4A)(c), 36, 37(2) and (2A) , 37A and 37B of that Schedule (restrictions on giving taxpayer notice where taxpayer has made tax return) were omitted.

(2A) Part 3 of Schedule 38 to the Finance Act 2012 (power to obtain tax agent's files etc) applies in relation to relevant contributions as in relation to tax and, accordingly—

(a) the cases described in paragraph 7 of that Schedule (case A and case B) include cases involving conduct or an offence relating to relevant contributions,

(b) (whether the case involves conduct or an offence relating to tax or relevant contributions) the papers and other documents that may be sought under that Part include ones relating to relevant contributions, and

(c) the other Parts of that Schedule apply so far as necessary to give effect to the application of Part 3 by virtue of this subsection.

(3) In this section “ relevant contributions ” means Class 1, Class 1A, Class 1B or Class 2 contributions.

110A Authorisations by local authorities

(1) An individual who for the time being has the authorisation for the purposes of this Part of an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit (“ a local authority authorisation ”) shall be entitled, for a relevant purpose , to exercise any of the powers which, subject to subsection (8) below, are conferred on an authorised officer by sections 109B and 109C above.

(1A) Each of the following is a relevant purpose—

(a) a purpose mentioned in subsection (2) below;

(b) a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d).

(1B) If the Secretary of State prescribes conditions for the purposes of this section, an authority must not proceed under this section for a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d) unless any such condition is satisfied.

(1C) An authorisation made for a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d)—

(a) is subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed;

(b) is not valid in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(2) The purposes in this subsection are—

(a) ascertaining in relation to any case whether housing benefit or council tax benefit is or was payable in that case;

(b) ascertaining whether provisions of the relevant social security legislation that relate to housing benefit or council tax benefit are being, have been or are likely to be contravened (whether by particular persons or more generally);

(c) preventing, detecting and securing evidence of the commission (whether by particular persons or more generally) of benefit offences relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit.

(3) An individual has the authorisation for the purposes of this Part of an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit if, and only if, that authority have granted him an authorisation for those purposes and he is—

(a) an individual employed by that authority;

(b) an individual employed by another authority or joint committee that carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of that authority;

(c) an individual employed by a person authorised by or on behalf of—

(i) the authority in question,

(ii) any such authority or joint committee as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above,

to carry out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit for that authority or committee;

(d) an official of a Government department.

(4) Subsection (4) of section 109A above shall apply in relation to a local authority authorisation as it applies in relation to an authorisation under that section.

(5) A local authority authorisation may be withdrawn at any time by the authority that granted it or by the Secretary of State.

(6) The certificate or other instrument containing the grant or withdrawal by any local authority of any local authority authorisation must be issued under the hand of either—

(a) the officer designated under section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 as the head of the authority's paid service; or

(b) the officer who is the authority's chief finance officer (within the meaning of section 5 of that Act).

(7) It shall be the duty of any authority with power to grant local authority authorisations to comply with any directions of the Secretary of State as to—

(a) whether or not such authorisations are to be granted by that authority;

(b) the period for which authorisations granted by that authority are to have effect;

(c) the number of persons who may be granted authorisations by that authority at any one time; and

(d) the restrictions to be contained by virtue of subsection (4) above in the authorisations granted by that authority for those purposes.