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Incapacity for work |
| Incapacity for work: personal capability assessments. |
52. For section 171C of the Contribution and Benefits Act there shall be substituted-
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| "Personal capability assessments. |
171C. - (1) Where the own occupation test is not applicable, or has ceased to apply, in the case of a person, the question whether the person is capable or incapable of work shall be determined in accordance with a personal capability assessment.
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(2) Provision shall be made by regulations-
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(a) defining a personal capability assessment by reference to the extent to which a person who has some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement is capable or incapable of performing such activities as may be prescribed; |
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(b) as to the manner of assessing whether a person is, in accordance with a personal capability assessment, incapable of work. |
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(3) Regulations may provide that, in any prescribed circumstances, a person to whom subsection (1) above applies shall, if the prescribed conditions are met, be treated as incapable of work in accordance with a personal capability assessment until such time as-
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(a) such an assessment has been carried out in his case, or |
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(b) he falls to be treated as capable of work in accordance with regulations under section 171A(2) or (3) above or section 171E below. |
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The prescribed conditions may include the condition that it has not previously been determined, within such period as may be prescribed, that the person in question is or is to be treated as capable of work.
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(4) Except in prescribed circumstances, a personal capability assessment carried out in the case of a person before the time when subsection (1) above applies to him shall be as effective for the purposes of that subsection as one carried out thereafter.
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(5) The Secretary of State may, in the case of a person who for any purpose of this Act has been determined to be incapable of work in accordance with a personal capability assessment (including one carried out by virtue of this subsection), require the question whether the person is capable or incapable of work to be determined afresh in accordance with a further personal capability assessment."
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Incapacity benefits |
| Incapacity benefit: restriction to recent contributors. |
53. - (1) Paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the Contributions and Benefits Act (contribution conditions for short-term incapacity benefit) shall be amended as follows.
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(2) In sub-paragraph (2) (the first condition), for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted-
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"(a) the claimant must have actually paid contributions of a relevant class in respect of one of the last two complete years before the beginning of the relevant benefit year, and those contributions must have been paid before the relevant time; and". |
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(3) In sub-paragraph (7) (claim by person who does not satisfy second contribution condition to be disregarded in relation to subsequent claim), after "does not satisfy" there shall be inserted "the first contribution condition (specified in sub-paragraph (2) above) or, as the case may be,".
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(4) After sub-paragraph (7) there shall be added-
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"(8) Regulations may-
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(a) provide for the first contribution condition (specified in sub-paragraph (2) above) to be taken to be satisfied in the case of persons who have been entitled to any prescribed description of benefit during any prescribed period or at any prescribed time; |
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(b) with a view to securing any relaxation of the requirements of that condition (as so specified) in relation to persons who have been so entitled, provide for that condition to apply in relation to them subject to prescribed modifications. |
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For this purpose "modifications" includes additions, omissions and amendments."
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| Incapacity benefit: reduction for pension payments. |
54. After section 30D of the Contributions and Benefits Act there shall be inserted-
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| "Incapacity benefit: reduction for pension payments. |
30DD. - (1) Regulations may make provision for securing that where-
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(a) a person is entitled to incapacity benefit in respect of any period, and |
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(b) a pension payment is payable to him in respect of that period (or a period which includes, or forms part of, that period), |
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the amount of that benefit is to be reduced, on account of that pension payment, by the specified amount.
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(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, provide-
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(a) for any such reduction to be made only where the amount of the pension payment (or any specified part of it) exceeds such limit as is specified; |
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(b) for sums of any specified description to be disregarded for the purposes of the regulations; |
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(c) for sums of any specified description to be treated for those purposes as payable to persons as pension payments (including, in particular, sums in relation to which there is a deferred right of receipt); |
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(d) for sums of any specified description which are payable as pension payments (or treated as being so payable) to be apportioned between or otherwise allocated to periods in respect of which persons are entitled to incapacity benefit. |
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(3) In this section "pension payment" means-
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(a) a periodical payment made in relation to a person under a personal pension scheme or, in connection with the coming to an end of an employment of his, under an occupational pension scheme or a public service pension scheme; |
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(b) a payment of any specified description, being a payment made under an insurance policy providing benefits in connection with physical or mental illness, disability, infirmity or defect; or |
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(c) a payment of any other specified description; |
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and "specified" means prescribed by or determined in accordance with regulations under this section.
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(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) "occupational pension scheme", "personal pension scheme" and "public service pension scheme" each have the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, except that "personal pension scheme" includes-
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(a) a contract or trust scheme approved under Chapter III of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (retirement annuities); and |
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(b) a personal pension scheme approved under Chapter IV of that Part of that Act." |
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| Incapacity benefit: persons incapacitated in youth. |
55. - (1) In subsection (1) of section 30A of the Contributions and Benefits Act (incapacity benefit: entitlement)-
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(a) for "either of the following conditions" there shall be substituted- |
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"(a) either of the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) below; or |
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(b) if he satisfies neither of those conditions, each of the conditions mentioned in subsection (2A) below,"; and |
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(b) after "any day of incapacity for work" there shall be inserted "("the relevant day")". |
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(2) In subsection (2) of that section-
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(a) after "conditions" there shall be inserted "mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above"; and |
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(b) in paragraph (a), for "the day in question" there shall be substituted "the relevant day". |
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(3) After that subsection there shall be inserted-
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"(2A) The conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above are that-
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(a) he is aged 16 or over on the relevant day; |
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(b) he is under the age of 20 or, in prescribed cases, 25 on a day which forms part of the period of incapacity for work; |
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(c) he was incapable of work throughout a period of 196 consecutive days immediately preceding the relevant day, or an earlier day in the period of incapacity for work on which he was aged 16 or over; |
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(d) on the relevant day he satisfies the prescribed conditions as to residence in Great Britain, or as to presence there; and |
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(e) he is not, on that day, a person who is receiving full-time education." |
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(4) In subsection (3) of that section, after "benefit" there shall be inserted "under subsection (1)(a) above".
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(5) After subsection (5) of that section there shall be inserted-
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"(6) Regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as receiving full-time education for the purposes of subsection (2A) above."
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| Abolition of severe disablement allowance. |
56. Sections 68 and 69 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (severe disablement allowance) shall cease to have effect.
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Disability benefits |
| Attendance allowance. |
57. - (1) After subsection (3) of section 64 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (entitlement to attendance allowance) there shall be added-
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"(4) Circumstances may be prescribed in which a person is to be taken to satisfy or not to satisfy such of the conditions mentioned in subsections (2) and (3) above as may be prescribed."
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(2) In subsection (1) of section 66 of that Act (attendance allowance for the terminally ill)-
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(a) in paragraph (a)(i), for the words from "for the remainder of his life" to "terminally ill" there shall be substituted "for so much of the period for which he is terminally ill as does not fall before the date of the claim"; |
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(b) in paragraph (a)(ii), for "that date", in the first place where those words occur, there shall be substituted "the date of the claim or, if later, the first date on which he is terminally ill"; and |
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(c) in paragraph (b), for "the remainder of the person's life, beginning with that date" there shall be substituted "so much of the period for which he is terminally ill as does not fall before the date of the claim". |
| Disability living allowance. |
58. - (1) In subsection (3) of section 71 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (disability living allowance), for "for life" there shall be substituted "for an indefinite period".
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(2) In subsection (5)(b) of section 72 of that Act (the care component), for "for the remainder of his life beginning with that date" there shall be substituted "for so much of the period for which he is terminally ill as does not fall before the date of the claim".
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(3) In subsection (1) of section 73 of that Act (the mobility component), for "the age of 5" there shall be substituted "the relevant age" and after that subsection there shall be inserted-
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"(1A) In subsection (1) above "the relevant age" means-
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(a) in relation to the conditions mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of that subsection, the age of 3; |
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(b) in relation to the conditions mentioned in paragraph (d) of that subsection, the age of 5." |
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(4) Subsection (3) does not affect awards made before day on which that subsection comes into force.
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