Legislation – The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement 9 and 21 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2017

Article 2 of this Order amends the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/983 (C. 41)), as it affects provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) relating to the abolition of income-related employment and support allowance and income-based jobseeker’s allowance (“the amending provisions”).

Regulation 39 of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1230), as inserted by the Social Security (Restrictions on Amounts for Children and Qualifying Young Persons) Amendment Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/376), provides that no claim for universal credit may be made during the “interim period” (as defined in that regulation) by a person who is responsible for more than two children or qualifying young persons.

The amendments made by article 2 cause the amending provisions not to have effect where, if a person made a claim for universal credit, the claim would be one to which regulation 39 applies. Therefore, a person may instead make a claim for an income-related employment and support allowance or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

Article 3 of this Order amends the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 21 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/33 (C. 4)) to enable claims for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit to be made where a person is prevented from claiming universal credit by virtue of regulation 39.