Social Security Bill

Social Security Bill - continued	House of Commons

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PART III

BENEFITS

Amendments of Contributions and Benefits Act

Daily rate of maternity allowance.

66. In subsection (5) of section 35 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (maternity allowance), for paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the words "the amount payable by way of that allowance for any day shall be taken as one seventh of the weekly rate of the allowance".

Rates of short-term incapacity benefit.

67. For subsection (4) of section 44 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (Category A retirement pension) there shall be substituted the following subsection-

{d2} In this subsection "the lower rate" means the rate payable for the first 196 days of entitlement in any period of incapacity for work."

"(4) The weekly rate of the basic pension shall be £62.45 except that, so far as the sum is relevant for the purpose of calculating the lower rate of short-term incapacity benefit under section 30B(3) above, it shall be £59.90.

Discretionary payments out of social fund.

68. - (1) For subsection (1) of section 138 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (payments out of social fund) there shall be substituted the following subsection-

	"(1) There may be made out of the social fund, in accordance with this Part of this Act-
	(a) payments of prescribed amounts, whether in respect of prescribed items or otherwise, to meet, in prescribed circumstances, maternity expenses and funeral expenses; and
	(b) payments by way of community care grant, crisis loan or budgeting loan to meet other needs in accordance with directions given or guidance issued by the Secretary of State."

(2) After subsection (4) of that section there shall be inserted the following subsection-

	"(5) In this Part-
	"budgeting loan" means a loan awarded in circumstances specified in directions issued by the Secretary of State for the purpose of defraying an intermittent expense;
	"community care grant" means a grant awarded in circumstances so specified for the purpose of meeting a need for community care;
	"crisis loan" means a loan awarded in circumstances so specified for the purpose of meeting an immediate short term need;
	and any reference in this subsection to meeting a need or defraying an expense includes a reference to helping to meet the need or to defray the expense."

Budgeting loans: criteria for making awards.

69. - (1) In subsection (1) of section 140 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (social fund: principles of determination), after the word "award" there shall be inserted the words "of a community care grant or a crisis loan".

(2) After that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection-

	"(1A) Subject to subsection (2) below, in determining whether to make an award of a budgeting loan to the applicant, or the amount or value to be awarded, an appropriate officer shall have regard to-
	(a) such of the applicant's personal circumstances as are of a description specified in directions issued by the Secretary of State; and
	(b) the criteria specified in paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (1) above;
	but where the criterion mentioned in paragraph (a) above would preclude the award of such a loan, the appropriate officer shall have regard instead to such other criterion as may be specified in directions so issued."

(3) In subsection (4) of that section, paragraph (e) shall cease to have effect and after paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following paragraph-

"(aa) that in circumstances specified in the direction an application for an award of a community care grant may be treated as an application for an award of a crisis loan, and vice versa;".

Power to reduce child benefit for lone parents.

70. - (1) Regulations may-

(a) revoke any provision of regulations which prescribes a higher rate of child benefit in the case of a lone parent; or

(b) vary any such provision by substituting a lower rate for the rate so prescribed,

notwithstanding anything in section 145(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (which precludes regulations from prescribing a rate lower than the rate it replaces).

(2) In this section "lone parent" means a parent who-

(a) has no spouse or is not living with his spouse; and

(b) is not living with any other person as his spouse.

Statutory sick pay not precluded by maternity allowance.

71. In paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 11 to the Contributions and Benefits Act (circumstances in which periods of entitlement to statutory sick pay do not arise), the words "(ii) she was entitled to a maternity allowance, or" shall cease to have effect.

Amendments of Administration Act

Restrictions on backdating of benefit.

72. - (1) For subsection (2) of section 1 of the Administration Act (entitlement to benefit dependent on claim) there shall be substituted the following subsection-

	"(2) Except as provided by section 3 below, where under subsection (1) above 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 shall not be entitled to it-
	(a) in respect of any period (or, in the case of a widow's payment, any death occurring) more than one month, or such period as may be prescribed, before the date on which the claim is made or treated as made; or
	(b) in such cases or circumstances as may be prescribed, in respect of any period before that date."

(2) In section 3 of that Act (late claims for widowhood benefit where death is difficult to establish)-

(a) in subsection (1), for the words "12 months have", in both places where they occur, there shall be substituted the words "one month has"; and

(b) in subsections (2) and (3), for the words "12 months", in each place where they occur, there shall be substituted the words "one month".

Overpayments out of social fund.

73. - (1) After section 71 of the Administration Act there shall be inserted the following section-

"Overpayments out of social fund.	71ZA. - (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 paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and subsection (5A), for the words "reversed or varied on an appeal or has been revised under section 10 or superseded under section 11" there were substituted the words "revised on a review under section 38";
	(b) in paragraph (b) of subsection (5), for the words "on the appeal or under that section" there were substituted the words "on the review"; and
	(c) subsections (7), (10A) and (10B) were omitted.
	(3) This section applies to social fund payments such as are mentioned in section 138(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act."

(2) In relation to any time before the commencement of sections 10 and 11 above, section 71ZA of the Administration Act shall have effect as if for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) there were substituted the following paragraphs-

	"(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and subsection (5A), the words "reversed or varied on an appeal or" were omitted;
	(b) in paragraph (b) of subsection (5), the words "appeal or" were omitted; and".

Power to anticipate pensions up-rating order.

74. After section 155 of the Administration Act there shall be inserted the following section-

"Power to anticipate pensions up-rating order.	155A. - (1) This section applies where a statement is made in the House of Commons by or on behalf of the Secretary of State which specifies-
	(a) the amounts by which he proposes, by an order under section 150, to increase-
	(i) the weekly sums that are payable by way of retirement pension; or
	(ii) the amount of graduated retirement benefit payable for each unit of graduated contributions; and
	(b) the date on which he proposes to bring the increases into force ("the commencing date").
	(2) Where, before the commencing date and after the date on which the statement is made, an award is made of a retirement pension or a graduated retirement benefit, the award either may provide for the pension or benefit to be paid as from the commencing date at the increased rate or may be expressed in terms of the rate appropriate at the date of the award."

Prepared 27 November 1997