The Income Support (General) Regulations 1987

Made: 20th November 1987

Coming into Force: 11th April 1988

Whereas a draft of this instrument was laid before Parliament in accordance with section 83(3) of the Social Security Act 1986 and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 20(1), (3)(d), (4), (9), (11) and (12), 22(1), (2), (4) and (5) to (9), 23(1), (3) and (5), 51(1)(n) and 84(1) of the Social Security Act 1986 and sections 114, 166(1) to (3A) of the Social Security Act 1975 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf by this instrument, which is made before the end of a period of 12 months from the commencement of the enactments under which it is made, hereby makes the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 and shall come into force on 11th April 1988.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “the 2012 Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

• “Abbeyfield Home” means an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society including all bodies corporate or incorporate which are affiliated to that Society;

• “the Act” means the Social Security Act 1986;

• “adoption leave” means a period of absence from work on ordinary or additional adoption leave by virtue of section 75A or 75B of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

• “adult disability payment” has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022;

• “approved blood scheme” means a scheme established or approved by the Secretary of State, or trust established with funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the purpose of providing compensation in respect of a person having been infected from contaminated blood products;

• “the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme” means the scheme established under section 1(2) of the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004;

• “armed forces independence payment’’ means armed forces independence payment under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011;

• “attendance allowance” means—an attendance allowance under section 35 of the Social Security Act;an increase of disablement pension under section 61 or 63 of that Act;a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by section 159(3)(b) of that Act;an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under section 5 of the Industrial Injuries and Diseases (Old Cases) Act 1975;a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983 or any analogous payment; orany payment based on need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension;

• “basic rate”, where it relates to the rate of tax, has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Act 2007 (see section 989 of that Act);

• “the benefit Acts" means the Contributions and Benefits Act , the Jobseekers Act 1995 , Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act , Part 4 of the 2012 Act and Parts 1 and 5 of the Pensions Act 2014;

• “benefit week” has the meaning prescribed in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987; and for the purposes of calculating any payment of income and of regulation 74(2)(a) “benefit week” shall also mean the period of 7 days ending on the day before the first day of the first benefit week following the date of claim or the last day on which income support is paid if it is in payment for less than a week;

• “board and lodging accommodation” means— accommodation provided to a person or, if he is a member of a family, to him or any other member of his family, for a charge which is inclusive of the provision of that accommodation and at least some cooked or prepared meals which both are cooked or prepared (by a person other than the person to whom the accommodation is provided or a member of his family) and are consumed in that accommodation or associated premises; oraccommodation provided to a person in a hotel, guest house, lodging house or some similar establishment,except accommodation provided by a close relative of his or of any other member of his family, or other than on a commercial basis;

• “care home” in England ... has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000, in Wales means a care home service within the meaning of Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 which is provided wholly or mainly to persons aged 18 or over and in Scotland means a care home service within the meaning assigned to it by paragraph2 of schedule12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010;

• “carer support payment” means the carer support payment component of carer support given in accordance with the Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023;

• “child abuse payment” means a payment from a scheme established or approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing compensation in respect of historic institutional child abuse in the United Kingdom;

• “child disability payment” has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the DACYP Regulations;

• “child tax credit” means a child tax credit under section 8 of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

• “the Children Order" means the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

• “claimant” means a person claiming income support;

• “close relative” means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-parent, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, or, if any of the preceding persons is one member of a couple, the other member of that couple;

• ...

• “concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury which is charged either to the National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit or tax credits under the benefit Acts or the Tax Credits Act 2002 are charged;

• “the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

• “contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance” means an allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as amended by the provisions of Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the 2012 Act that remove references to an income-based allowance, and a contribution-based allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as that Act has effect apart from those provisions;

• “the Contributions Regulations” means the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001;

• “contributory employment and support allowance” means an allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act as amended by the provisions of Schedule 3, and Part 1 of Schedule 14, to the 2012 Act that remove references to an income-related allowance, and a contributory allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act as that Part has effect apart from those provisions;

• “co-ownership scheme” means a scheme under which a dwelling is let by a housing association and the tenant, or his personal representative, will, under the terms of the tenancy agreement or of the agreement under which he became a member of the association, be entitled, on his ceasing to be a member and subject to any condition stated in either agreement, to a sum calculated by reference directly or indirectly to the value of the dwelling;

• “couple” means—two people who are married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household; ortwo people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners;

• “course of study" means any course of study, whether or not it is a sandwich course (within the meaning prescribed in regulation 61(1)) and whether or not a grant is made for attending or undertaking it;

• “Crown tenant” means a person who occupies a dwelling under a tenancy or licence where the interest of the landlord belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or to a government department or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, except (in the case of an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown) where the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners or a relevant person;

• “DACYP Regulations” means the Disability Assistance for Children and Young People (Scotland) Regulations 2021;

• “date of claim” means the date on which the claimant makes, or is treated as making, a claim for income support for the purposes of regulation 6 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987;

• “disability living allowance”means a disability living allowance under section 37ZA of the Social Security Act;

• ...

• “dwelling occupied as the home” means the dwelling together with any garage, garden and outbuildings, normally occupied by the claimant as his home including any premises not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separately, in particular, in Scotland, any croft land on which the dwelling is situated.

• “earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 35 or, as the case may be, 37;

• ...

• “employed earner” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(a) of the Social Security Act;

• “employment” except for the purposes of section 20(3)(d) of the Act, includes any trade, business, profession, office or vocation;

• ...

• “the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations” means the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008;

• ...

• “employment zone” means an area within Great Britain designated for the purposes of section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 and an “employment zone programme” means a programme established for such an area or areas designed to assist claimants for a jobseeker’s allowance to obtain sustainable employment;

• “employment zone contractor” means a person who is undertaking the provision of facilities in respect of an employment zone programme on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment;

• “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament or the National Assembly for Wales;

• “first year of training” means a period of one year beginning with a person’s first day of training.

• ...

• “full-time student" has the meaning prescribed in regulation 61(1);

• “Grenfell Tower payment” means a payment made for the purpose of providing compensation or support in respect of the fire on 14th June 2017 at Grenfell Tower;

• "a guaranteed income payment" means a payment made under article 14(1)(b) or article 21(1)(a) of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005;

• “Health Service Act” means the National Health Service Act 2006;

• “Health Service (Wales) Act” means the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006;

• “the Horizon system” means any version of the computer system used by the Post Office known as Horizon, Horizon Legacy, Horizon Online or HNG-X;

• “housing association” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Housing Associations Act 1985;

• “housing benefit expenditure" means expenditure in respect of which housing benefit is payable as specified in regulation 12(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 but does not include any such expenditure in respect of which an amount is applicable under regulation 17(1)(e) or 18(1)(f) (housing costs);

• “Immigration and Asylum Act" means the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;

• ...

• “income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (employment and support allowance);

• “independent hospital”— in England, means a hospital as defined by section 275 of the National Health Service Act 2006 that is not a health service hospital as defined by that section;in Wales, has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000; and in Scotland, means an independent healthcare service as defined in section 10F(1)(a) and (b) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

• ...

• “invalid carriage or other vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

• “last day of the course" has the meaning prescribed in regulation 61(1);

• “LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme payment” means a payment under the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Financial Recognition Scheme administered under the authority of the Secretary of State for Defence;

• “liable relative” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 54;

• “local welfare provision” means occasional financial or other assistance given by a local authority, the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers, or a person authorised to exercise any function of, or provide a service to, them, to or in respect of individuals for the purpose of—meeting, or helping to meet, an immediate short term need—arising out of an exceptional event, or exceptional circumstances; andthat requires to be met in order to avoid a risk to the well-being of an individual; orenabling individuals to establish or maintain a settled home, where those individuals have been or, without the assistance, might otherwise be—in prison, hospital, a residential care establishment or other institution; orhomeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life;

• “lone parent” means a person who has no partner and who is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child or young person;

• “long tenancy” means a tenancy granted for a term of years certain exceeding twenty one years, whether or not the tenancy is, or may become, terminable before the end of that term by notice given by or to the tenant or by re-entry, forfeiture (or, in Scotland, irritancy) or otherwise and includes a lease for a term fixed by law under a grant with a covenant or obligation for perpetual renewal unless it is a lease by sub-demise from one which is not a long tenancy;

• “long-term patient” means a person who—is a patient within the meaning of regulation 21(3); andhas been such a patient for a continuous period of more than 52 weeks;

• ...

• “the Mandatory Work Activity Scheme” means a scheme within section 17A of the Jobseekers Act 1995, known by that name and provided pursuant to arrangements made by the Secretary of State that is designed to provide work or work-related activity for up to 30 hours per week over a period of four consecutive weeks with a view to assisting claimants to improve their prospects of obtaining employment;

• “maternity leave” means a period during which a woman is absent from work because she is pregnant or has given birth to a child, and at the end of which she has a right to return to work either under the terms of her contract of employment or under Part VIII of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

• “member of the support group” means a claimant who has or is treated as having limited capability for work-related activity under either—Part 6 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008; orPart 5 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013;

• “member of the work-related activity group” means a claimant who has or is treated as having limited capability for work under either—Part 5 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 other than by virtue of regulation 30 of those Regulations; orPart 4 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013 other than by virtue of regulation 26 of those Regulations;

• “MFET Limited” means the company limited by guarantee (number 7121661) of that name, established for the purpose in particular of making payments in accordance with arrangements made with the Secretary of State to persons who have acquired HIV as a result of treatment by the NHS with blood or blood products ;

• “miscarriage of justice compensation payment” means—a payment made under section 133(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; orany other payment made by the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers or, in Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice, for the purpose of compensating a person—for a miscarriage of justice in criminal proceedings, orfor being wrongfully charged with a criminal offence;

• ...

• “mobility supplement” means any supplement under article 20 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006 including such a supplement by virtue of any other scheme or order or under Article 25A of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983;

• “the National Emergencies Trust” means the registered charity of that name (number 1182809) established on 28th March 2019;

• “neonatal care leave” means leave under section 80EF of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

• “net earnings” means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 36;

• “net profit” means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 38;

• “the New Deal options” means the employment programmes specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(ii) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 and the training scheme specified in regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations;

• “non-dependant” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 3;

• “non-dependant deduction” means a deduction that is to be made under regulation 17(e) and paragraph 18 of Schedule 3;

• ...

• “occupational pension” means any pension or other periodical payment under an occupational pension scheme but does not include any discretionary payment out of a fund established for relieving hardship in particular cases;

• “parental bereavement leave” means leave under section 80EA of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

• “partner” means where a claimant—is a member of a couple, the other member of that couple;is married polygamously to two or more members of his household, any such member;