Citation, extent and effect

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 31 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2024.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

(3) The amendment in article 2 has effect from 8th June 2024.

Preservation of saving for mixed-age couples migrated to universal credit

2. —(1) The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 31 and Savings and Transitional Provisions and Commencement No. 21 and 23 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019( 2 ) is amended as follows.

(2) In article 4 (savings) after paragraph (2) insert—

“ (3) Nothing in regulation 6A (restriction on claims for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit) of the Transitional Regulations prevents a claim for housing benefit by a member of a mixed-age couple referred to in paragraph (1) where—

(a) they have been issued with a migration notice;

(b) they make the claim for housing benefit within three months beginning with—

(i) in the case of a person who became entitled to universal credit by claiming before the final deadline, the day after their award of universal credit terminates; or

(ii) in the case of a person who did not claim universal credit, or claimed before the final deadline but was not entitled, the day after their award of housing benefit terminates; and

(c) they meet the conditions for entitlement to housing benefit on that day.

(4) Where a person mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)(i) of paragraph (3) claims—

(a) housing benefit; or

(b) state pension credit (whether or not they also claim housing benefit),

within three months beginning with the day mentioned in that sub-paragraph, any days on which they were entitled to universal credit are to be disregarded for the purposes of paragraph (2).

(5) In this article “ Transitional Regulations ” means the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 ( 3 ) and “ final deadline ” and “ migration notice ” have the same meaning as in those Regulations. ” .