Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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(1) In section 28 of the 1986 Act (arrangements for housing benefit) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted--

" (1A) The rebates and allowances referred to in subsection (1) above may take any of the following forms, that is to say--

(a) a payment or payments by the authority to the person entitled to the benefit;

(b) a reduction in the amount of any payments which that person is liable to make to the authority by way of rent or rates; or

and in any enactment or instrument (whenever passed or made) "pay", in relation to housing benefit, includes discharge in any of those forms. "

(2) Subsection (1) above shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st April 1988.

15 Housing benefit subsidy

(1) In section 30 of the 1986 Act, in subsection (2) (computation etc of housing benefit subsidy) the words following paragraph (b), other than those added by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, shall cease to have effect and after that subsection there shall be inserted--

" (2A) In relation to rent allowance subsidy, the Secretary of State--

(a) may specify any such additions and deductions as are referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above, and

(b) may exercise his discretion as to what is unreasonable for the purposes of paragraph (b) of that subsection,

by reference to determinations made by rent officers in exercise of functions conferred on them under section 121 of the Housing Act 1988 or section 70 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 ("the Housing Act functions").

(2B) The Secretary of State may by regulations require a local authority in any prescribed case to apply to a rent officer for a determination to be made in pursuance of the Housing Act functions and any such authority shall comply with prescribed requirements as to the time for making such an application.

(2C) Where a local authority would have been required to apply to a rent officer for a determination under the Housing Act functions in a pre-commencement case, had the first regulations under subsection (2B) above come into force on 1st April 1989, regulations may make provision--

(a) requiring the authority in prescribed circumstances to apply within a prescribed period to the rent officer for that determination to be made; and

(b) requiring the rent officer in prescribed circumstances to make that determination on prescribed assumptions;

and in this subsection "pre-commencement case" means any case which arises before the date on which the first regulations under subsection (2B) above in fact come into force. "

(2) For subsection (8) of that section (conditions for payment of subsidy) there shall be substituted the following--

" (8) Subsidy under this section shall be payable by the Secretary of State at such time and in such manner as the Treasury may direct.

(8A) Subsidy shall not be payable to an authority until either--

(a) they have made a claim for it in such form as the Secretary of State may determine; or

(b) if they have not made such a claim, the amount of subsidy payable to them (apart from subsection (8F) below) has been estimated under subsection (8C) below.

(8B) The Secretary of State may withhold from an authority so much of any subsidy under this section as he thinks fit until either--

(a) the authority has supplied him with prescribed particulars relating to their claim for subsidy and complied with prescribed conditions as to records, certificates, audit or otherwise; or

(b) he is satisfied that there is a good reason for the authority's failure to supply those particulars or comply with those conditions.

(8C) If an authority has not--

(a) made a claim for subsidy,

(b) supplied the prescribed particulars referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (8B) above, or

within the prescribed period, then the Secretary of State may estimate the amount of subsidy payable to them (apart from subsection (8F) below) and may employ for that purpose such criteria as he considers relevant.

(8D) If the Secretary of State considers it reasonable to do so in any particular case, he may give the authority in question written notice extending any of the periods prescribed under subsection (8C) above for the purposes of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of that subsection, as the case may be.

(8E) If an authority fails to make a claim for subsidy within such period as the Secretary of State considers reasonable, he may withhold from them such part of the subsidy as he thinks fit for so long as he thinks fit.

(8F) Where the amount of subsidy paid to an authority for any year is found to be incorrect, the amount payable to them for any subsequent year may be adjusted for the purpose of rectifying that mistake in whole or in part. "

16 Expenses of Secretary of State in making transitional payments relating to income support and housing benefit

(1) Any expenses of the Secretary of State in making payments to persons falling within subsection (2) or (3) below may be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

(2) A person falls within this subsection if--

(a) he was entitled to supplementary benefit immediately before 11th April 1988, but

(b) he did not become entitled to income support in respect of the week beginning with that day.

(3) A person falls within this subsection if he was entitled to any one or more of the former housing-related benefits in respect of a qualifying week but either--

(a) he did not become entitled to housing benefit under Part II of the 1986 Act in respect of the commencement week, or

(b) the amount of any such housing benefit to which he became entitled in respect of that week was less than the amount of the former housing-related benefits to which he had been entitled in respect of the qualifying week.

(4) In this section--

"commencement day" means the day on which the new provisions came into force in the case of the person in question (1st or 4th April 1988, according to the circumstances);
"commencement week", in relation to any person, means the week beginning with the commencement day in his case;
"the former housing-related benefits" means--

(a) rent rebates, rate rebates and rent allowances, within the meaning of Part II of the 1982 Act; and

(b) housing benefit supplement;

"the new provisions" means the following provisions of Part II of the 1986 Act, so far as relating to housing benefit, that is to say, sections 20 to 22, 28 and 29;
"qualifying week", in relation to any person, means any week beginning on or after 21st March 1988 and ending before the commencement day in his case;
"week" means a period of seven days.

(5) For the purposes of this section--

(a) a person shall be regarded as having been entitled to housing benefit supplement in respect of a week if an amount was applicable in respect of him under regulation 19 of the [S. I. 1983/1399.] Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1983 in respect of that week; and

(b) the amount of housing benefit supplement to which he was entitled in respect of that week shall be taken to be an amount equal to the amount so applicable.

Up-rating

17 Rectification of mistakes in up-rating orders

(1) After section 63 of the 1986 Act (annual review of certain sums) there shall be inserted the following--

" 63A Rectification of mistakes in orders under section 63

(1) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a mistake (whether in computation or otherwise) has occurred in the preparation of the previous order under section 63 above, he may by order vary the amount of any one or more of the sums specified in an enactment mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of that section by increasing or reducing it to the level at which it would have stood had the mistake not occurred.

(2) Where the amount of any such sum is varied under this section, then, for the purposes of the next review and order under that section, the amount of the sum shall be taken to be, and throughout the period under review to have been, its amount as so varied. "

(2) In that Act--

(a) in section 64 (effect of alteration of rates of benefit) in subsection (1)(b), after the words "section 63" there shall be inserted the words "or 63A";

(b) in section 83, in subsection (3) (statutory instruments which require affirmative procedure) in paragraph (d), after the words "section 63" there shall be inserted the words "or 63A"; and

(c) in subsection (5) of that section (Treasury consent) for the words "or 63" there shall be substituted the words ",63 or 63A".

(3) In section 59B of the principal Act (retirement allowance) after subsection (5) there shall be inserted--

" (5A) For the purpose of determining under subsection (5) above the weekly rate of retirement allowance in the case of a beneficiary who--

(a) retires or is deemed to have retired on 10th April 1989, and

(b) on 9th April 1989 was entitled to reduced earnings allowance at a rate which was restricted under section 59A(8) above by reference to 40 per cent. of the maximum rate of disablement pension,

it shall be assumed that the weekly rate of reduced earnings allowance to which he was entitled on 9th April 1989 was £26.96. "

(4) Section 2 of the [1988 c. 7.] Social Security Act 1988 (certain persons to be entitled to reduced earnings allowance after introduction of retirement allowance etc) shall have effect with the amendments specified in subsections (5) and (6) below.

(5) After subsection (5) there shall be inserted--

" (5A) For the purpose of determining under subsection (5) above the weekly rate of reduced earnings allowance payable in the case of a qualifying beneficiary, it shall be assumed that the weekly rate at which the allowance was payable to him on the relevant date was--

(a) £25.84, where that date is 10th April 1988, or

(b) £26.96, where that date is 9th April 1989.

(5B) In subsection (5A) above "qualifying beneficiary" means a person entitled to reduced earnings allowance by virtue of subsection (4) above who--

(a) did not attain pensionable age before 6th April 1987, or

(b) did not retire from regular employment before that date,

and who, on the relevant date, was entitled to the allowance at a rate which was restricted under section 59A(8) of the Social Security Act 1975 by reference to 40 per cent. of the maximum rate of disablement pension. "

(6) In subsection (7) (relevant date for persons entitled to the allowance by virtue of subsection (4)(b)) after the words "by virtue" there shall be inserted the word "only".

(7) Subsections (3) to (6) above shall be deemed to have come into force on 10th April 1989.

18 Effect of alteration in the component rates of income support

After section 64 of the 1986 Act (effect of alteration of rates of benefit) there shall be inserted--

" 64A Effect of alteration in the component rates of income support

(1) Subject to such exceptions and conditions as may be prescribed, where--

(a) an award of income support is in force in favour of any person ("the recipient"), and

(b) there is an alteration in any of the relevant amounts, that is to say--

(i) any of the component rates of income support,

(ii) any of the other sums specified in regulations under Part II above, or

(iii) the recipient's benefit income, and

then subsection (2) or (3) below (as the case may be) shall have effect.

(2) Where, in consequence of the alteration in question, the recipient becomes entitled to an increased or reduced amount of income support ("the new amount"), then, as from the commencing date, the amount of income support payable to or for the recipient under the award shall be the new amount, without any further decision of an adjudication officer, and the award shall have effect accordingly.

(3) Where, notwithstanding the alteration in question, the recipient continues on and after the commencing date to be entitled to the same amount of income support as before, the award shall continue in force accordingly.

(4) In any case where--

(a) there is an alteration in any of the relevant amounts, and

(b) before the commencing date (but after that date is fixed) an award of income support is made in favour of a person,

the award either may provide for income support to be paid as from the commencing date, in which case the amount shall be determined by reference to the relevant amounts which will be in force on that date, or may provide for an amount determined by reference to the amounts in force at the date of the award.

(5) In this section--

"alteration" means--

(a) in relation to--

(i) the component rates of income support, or

(ii) any other sums specified in regulations under Part II of this Act,

their alteration by or under any enactment, whether or not contained in that Part; and

(b) in relation to a person's benefit income, the alteration of any of the sums referred to in section 63(1) above--

(i) by any enactment, or

(ii) by an order under section 63 or 63A above,

to the extent that any such alteration affects the amount of his benefit income;

"benefit income", in relation to any person, means so much of his income as consists of--

(a) benefit under the benefit Acts, other than income support; or

(b) a war disablement pension or war widow's pension;

"the commencing date", in relation to an alteration, means the date on which the alteration comes into force in the case of the person in question;
"component rate", in relation to income support, means the amount of--

(a) any of the sums specified in regulations under section 22(1) above; or

(b) the sum referred to in section 23(5)(b)(i) and (ii) above;

"relevant amounts" has the meaning given by subsection (1)(b) above. "

Information and adjudication

19 Unauthorised disclosure of information relating to particular persons

(1) A person who is or has been employed in social security administration or adjudication is guilty of an offence if he discloses without lawful authority any information which he acquired in the course of his employment and which relates to a particular person.

(2) A person who is or has been employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints is guilty of an offence if he discloses without lawful authority any information--

(a) which he acquired in the course of his employment;

(b) which is, or is derived from, information acquired or held by or for the purposes of any of the government departments or other bodies or persons referred to in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or in any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland; and

(3) It is not an offence under this section--

(a) to disclose information in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it; or

(b) to disclose information which has previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority.

(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that at the time of the alleged offence--

(a) he believed that he was making the disclosure in question with lawful authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise; or

(b) he believed that the information in question had previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable--

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the persons who are "employed in social security administration or adjudication" are--

(a) any person specified in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or in any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland;

(b) any other person who carries out the administrative work of any of the government departments or other bodies or persons referred to in that Part of that Schedule or that corresponding enactment; and

(c) any person who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to any of those departments, persons or bodies;

and "employment", in relation to any such person, shall be construed accordingly.

(7) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (6) above, any reference in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland to a government department shall be construed in accordance with Part II of that Schedule or any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland, and for this purpose "government department" shall be taken to include the Commissioners of Inland Revenue.

(8) For the purposes of this section, the persons who are "employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints" are--

(a) the Comptroller and Auditor General;

(b) the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland;

(d) the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;

(e) the Health Service Commissioner for England;

(f) the Health Service Commissioner for Wales;

(g) the Health Service Commissioner for Scotland;

(h) the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;

(i) any member of the staff of the National Audit Office or of the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(j) any other person who carries out the administrative work of either of those Offices, or who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to either of them; and

(k) any officer of any of the Commissioners referred to in paragraphs (c) to (h) above;

and "employment", in relation to any such person, shall be construed accordingly.

(9) For the purposes of this section a disclosure is to be regarded as made with lawful authority if, and only if, it is made--

(a) in accordance with his official duty--

(i) by a civil servant; or

(ii) by a person employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints who does not fall within subsection (8)(j) above;

(b) by any other person either--

(i) for the purposes of the function in the exercise of which he holds the information and without contravening any restriction duly imposed by the person responsible; or

(ii) to, or in accordance with an authorisation duly given by, the person responsible;

(d) for the purpose of instituting, or otherwise for the purposes of, any proceedings before a court or before any tribunal or other body or person referred to in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act; or

(e) with the consent of the appropriate person;

and in this subsection "the person responsible" means the Secretary of State, the Lord Chancellor or any person authorised by the Secretary of State or the Lord Chancellor for the purposes of this subsection and includes a reference to "the person responsible" within the meaning of any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland.

(10) For the purposes of subsection (9)(e) above, "the appropriate person" means the person to whom the information in question relates, except that if the affairs of that person are being dealt with--

(a) under a power of attorney,

(b) by a receiver appointed under section 99 of the [1983 c. 20.] Mental Health Act 1983 or any corresponding enactment having effect in Northern Ireland,

(i) a curator bonis, tutor or judicial factor, or

(ii) the managers of a hospital acting on behalf of that person under section 94 of the [1984 c. 36.] Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, or

(d) by a mental health appointee, that is to say--

(i) a person directed or authorised as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of rule 41(1) of the [S.I. 1984/2035.] Court of Protection Rules 1984 or any similar appointee in Northern Ireland, or

(ii) a receiver ad interim appointed under sub-paragraph (b) of that rule or any similar appointee in Northern Ireland,

the appropriate person is the attorney, receiver, custodian or appointee, as the case may be, or, in a case falling within paragraph (a) above, the person to whom the information relates.

(11) This section shall come into force with the repeal of section 2 of the [1911 c. 28.] Official Secrets Act 1911.

20 Disclosure of information by Inland Revenue for social security purposes

In section 59 of the 1986 Act (information which may be disclosed by the Inland Revenue for social security purposes)--

(a) in subsection (1) (information obtained in connection with the assessment or collection of income tax) after the word "obtained" there shall be inserted the words "or held"; and

(b) in subsection (2) (which restricts the information which may be so disclosed about self-employed earners to the commencement and cessation of their trade etc) after the words "cessation of" there shall be inserted the words ", and employed earners engaged in,".

21 Miscellaneous amendments relating to adjudication

The enactments mentioned in Schedule 3 to this Act (which relate to adjudication) shall have effect with the amendments there specified.

Recovery from damages etc of sums equivalent to benefit

22 Recovery of sums equivalent to benefit from compensation payments in respect of accidents, injuries and diseases

(1) A person (the "compensator") making a compensation payment, whether on behalf of himself or another, in consequence of an accident, injury or disease suffered by any other person (the "victim") shall not do so until the Secretary of State has furnished him with a certificate of total benefit and shall then--

(a) deduct from the payment an amount, determined in accordance with the certificate of total benefit, equal to the gross amount of any relevant benefits paid or likely to be paid to or for the victim during the relevant period in respect of that accident, injury or disease;

(b) pay to the Secretary of State an amount equal to that which is required to be so deducted; and

(c) furnish the person to whom the compensation payment is or, apart from this section, would have been made (the "intended recipient") with a certificate of deduction.

(2) Any right of the intended recipient to receive the compensation payment in question shall be regarded as satisfied to the extent of the amount certified in the certificate of deduction.

(3) In this section--

"benefit" means any benefit under--

(a) the Social Security Acts 1975 to 1988, or

(b) the Old Cases Act,

and the "relevant benefits" are such of those benefits as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section;

"certificate of total benefit" means a certificate given by the Secretary of State in accordance with Schedule 4 to this Act;
"certificate of deduction" means a certificate given by the compensator specifying the amount which he has deducted and paid to the Secretary of State in pursuance of subsection (1) above;
"compensation payment" means any payment falling to be made (whether voluntarily, or in pursuance of a court order or an agreement, or otherwise)--

(a) to or in respect of the victim in consequence of the accident, injury or disease in question, and

(b) by or on behalf of a person who is, or is alleged to be, liable to any extent in respect of that accident, injury or disease,

and includes, in particular, so much of the payment as represents reimbursement for costs incurred in procuring it, but does not include benefit or an exempt payment;

"compensator", "victim" and "intended recipient" shall be construed in accordance with subsection (1) above;
"costs", in relation to proceedings in Scotland, means expenses;
"payment" means payment in money or money's worth, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
"relevant period" means--

(a) in the case of a disease, the period of 5 years beginning with the date on which the victim first claims a relevant benefit in consequence of the disease; or

(b) in any other case, the period of 5 years immediately following the day on which the accident or injury in question occurred;

but where before the end of that period the compensator makes a compensation payment in final discharge of any claim made by or in respect of the victim and arising out of the accident, injury or disease, the relevant period shall end on the date on which that payment is made whether or not any subsequent payment falls to be made in respect only of taxed costs.

(4) For the purposes of this section the following are the "exempt payments"--

(a) any small payment, as defined in paragraph 4 of Schedule 4 to this Act;

(b) any payment made to or for the victim under section 35 of the [1973 c. 62.] Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 or section 58 of the [1980 c. 62.] Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980;

(i) in consequence of an action under the [1976 c. 30.] Fatal Accidents Act 1976; or

(ii) in circumstances where, had an action been brought, it would have been brought under that Act;

(d) any payment to the extent that it is made in respect of a liability arising by virtue of section 1 of the [1976 c. 13.] Damages (Scotland) Act 1976;

(e) without prejudice to section 6(4) of the [1979 c. 17.] Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 (which provides for the deduction of any such payment in the assessment of any award of damages), any payment made under that Act to or in respect of the victim;

(f) any award of compensation made to or in respect of the victim by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board under section 111 of the [1988 c. 33.] Criminal Justice Act 1988;

(g) any payment made in the exercise of a discretion out of property held subject to a trust in a case where no more than 50 per cent. by value of the capital contributed to the trust was directly or indirectly provided by persons who are, or are alleged to be, liable in respect of--

(i) the accident, injury or disease suffered by the victim in question; or

(ii) the same or any connected accident, injury or disease suffered by another;

(h) any payment made out of property held for the purposes of any prescribed trust (whether the payment also falls within paragraph (g) above or not);

(j) any payment made to the victim by an insurance company within the meaning of the [1982 c. 50.] Insurance Companies Act 1982 under the terms of any contract of insurance entered into between the victim and the company before--

(i) the date on which the victim first claims a relevant benefit in consequence of the disease in question; or

(ii) the occurrence of the accident or injury in question;

(k) any redundancy payment falling to be taken into account in the assessment of damages in respect of an accident, injury or disease.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that any prescribed payment shall be an exempt payment for the purposes of this section.

(6) Except as provided by any other enactment, in the assessment of damages in respect of an accident, injury or disease the amount of any relevant benefits paid or likely to be paid shall be disregarded.

(7) Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing the provisions of this section; and this section shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Schedule.

(8) This section and that Schedule shall apply in relation to any compensation payment made after the coming into force of this section to the extent that it is made in respect of--

(a) an accident or injury occurring on or after 1st January 1989; or

(b) a disease, if the victim's first claim for a relevant benefit in consequence of the disease is made on or after that date.

Occupational and personal pensions etc

23 Equal treatment for men and women

Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of implementing the directive [86/378/EEC.] of the Council of the European Communities, dated 24th July 1986, relating to the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes, and of making additional, supplemental and consequential provision.

24 Miscellaneous amendments relating to pensions

The enactments and instruments mentioned in Schedule 6 to this Act (which relate to occupational and personal pensions) shall have effect with the amendments there specified.

War pensions committees

25 Establishment and functions of war pensions committees

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations establish committees, known as war pensions committees, for such areas as may be specified in the regulations; and the regulations may, in particular, include provisions with respect to--

(a) the membership of the committees;

(b) the manner in which the members are to be appointed and the period for which, and the terms on which, they are to hold office; and

(2) The committees shall have such functions relating to war pensions and war pensioners as may be conferred upon them by the regulations; and the regulations may, in particular, provide that it shall be their function--

(a) to consider any matter connected with war pensions or affecting war pensioners in their area and, where they think it appropriate, to make recommendations to the Secretary of State about that matter;

(b) to consider complaints made to them by persons receiving or claiming war pensions and, if they think fit, to make representations about those complaints to the Secretary of State;

(c) to consider any matters referred to them by the Secretary of State and to report to him on those matters with such recommendations as they may think fit; and

(d) to assist the War Pensioners' Welfare Service in looking after the welfare of war pensioners in their area.

(3) The regulations may include provisions with respect to the manner in which the committees are to discharge the functions conferred on them; and they shall exercise their functions subject to, and in accordance with, any such provisions.

(4) In this section--

"war pension" means--

(a) any pension or other benefit, payable otherwise than under an enactment, for or in respect of a person who has died or been disabled in consequence of service as a member of the armed forces of the Crown,

(b) any pension or benefit awarded under--

(i) the [1939 c. 82.] Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act 1939,

(ii) the [1939 c. 83.] Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act 1939, or

(iii) the [1947 c. 19.] Polish Resettlement Act 1947,

(c) any pension or other payment which constitutes such an obligation as is mentioned in section 4(1) of the [1958 c. 46.] Statute Law Revision Act 1958 (seamen and fishermen killed or injured in the 1914-1918 war),

(d) any other pension or benefit which is specified in an order made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section,

but does not include any pension or benefit administered by the Defence Council, the Minister of the Crown with responsibility for defence or the Commissioners for the Royal Hospital for Soldiers at Chelsea; and

"war pensioner" means a person in receipt of a war pension, in his capacity as such a pensioner.

(5) In section 9(1) of the [1970 c. 44.] Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (central advisory committee to include chairmen of at least 12 war pensions committees) for the words "by schemes under section 1 of that Act" there shall be substituted the words "by regulations under section 25 of the Social Security Act 1989".

(6) In the [1921 c. 49.] War Pensions Act 1921--

(a) sections 1 and 2 (which are superseded by this section) shall cease to have effect; and

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