Legislation – Welfare Reform Act 2009

“(a)

prescribe circumstances in which a jobseeker’s allowance is not to be payable for a prescribed period (of at least one week but not more than two weeks) in the case of—

(i)

a claimant (other than a joint-claim couple claiming a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance) who fails to comply with any regulations made under that subsection, or

(ii)

a joint-claim couple claiming a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance a member of which fails to comply with any such regulations;

(b)

provide for the consequence set out in paragraph (a) not to follow if, within a prescribed period of a person’s (“P”) failure to comply with any such regulations (“the relevant period”), P or, if P is a member of a joint-claim couple, either member of the couple—

(i)

makes prescribed contact with an officer of the Secretary of State, and

(ii)

shows that P had good cause for the failure;

(c)

provide for entitlement to a jobseeker’s allowance to cease at such time as may be determined in accordance with any such regulations if P or, as the case may be, a member of the couple does not make prescribed contact with an officer of the Secretary of State in the relevant period;

(ca)

prescribe circumstances in which a jobseeker’s allowance is to be payable in respect of a claimant even though provision made by any such regulations by virtue of paragraph (a) prevents payment of a jobseeker’s allowance in respect of the claimant; and”.

“(2A)

The provision that may be made by any such regulations by virtue of subsection (2)(ca) includes, in particular, provision for a jobseeker’s allowance payable by virtue of that paragraph to be—

(a)

payable only if prescribed requirements as to the provision of information are complied with;

(b)

payable at a prescribed rate;

(c)

payable for a prescribed period (which may differ from the period mentioned in subsection (2)(a)).”