The Social Security (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 1994

Made: 23rd November 1994

Laid before Parliament: 24th November 1994

Coming into force: 13th April 1995

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 59 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Social Security Administration Act 1992[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, by this instrument, which contains only regulations made consequential upon the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994[^f00002] and is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of that Act[^f00003], hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 1994 and shall come into force on 13th April 1995.

• (2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976[^f00004].

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2

• (1) The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

• (2) In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation) there shall be inserted after the definition of “the Act”—

• “the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992[^f00005];
• “the all work test” means the test provided for in section 171C of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

• (3) In regulation 2 (evidence of incapacity for work and confinement)—

• (a) in paragraph (1)—

• (i) there shall be substituted for the words “where a person claims” up to and including “those days either”— “where a person claims he is entitled to any benefit, allowance or advantage (other than industrial injuries benefit or statutory sick pay), and his entitlement to that benefit, allowance or advantage depends on his being incapable of work, then in respect of each day until he has been assessed for the purposes of the all work test, he shall provide evidence of such incapacity”; and

• (ii) there shall be substituted for sub-paragraph (c)—

(c) where the all work test applies and the Secretary of State so requests, a statement in writing given by a doctor in accordance with the rules set out in Part I of Schedule 1B to these Regulations on the form set out in Part II of that Schedule; or (d) where it would be unreasonable to require a person to provide a statement from a doctor, such other evidence as may be sufficient to show that he should refrain from work by reason of some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement.

; and

• (b) in paragraph (2) there shall be inserted after “applies”—

• who has not been assessed for the purposes of the all work test

• (4) In regulation 5 (self-certificate for first 7 days of a spell of incapacity for work)—

• (a) in paragraph (1) there shall be substituted for the words from the beginning of that paragraph up to and including “right to benefit”—

• The evidence of incapacity required for the purposes of determining entitlement to a benefit, allowance or advantage referred to in regulation 2(1)

; and

• (b) in paragraph (2) there shall be substituted for the definition of “spell of incapacity”—

• “spell of incapacity” has the meaning given to it by section 171B(3) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

Insertion of Schedule 1B into the principal Regulations

3

The Schedule to these Regulations shall be Schedule 1B to the principal Regulations.

SCHEDULE

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

William Hague — Minister of State, — 23rd November 1994

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976 (“the principal Regulations”), which set out the medical evidence required for determining capacity for work in relation to benefits other than statutory sick pay and industrial injuries benefit.

These Regulations are consequential on the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (“the 1994 Act”), which comes into force on 13th April 1995. That Act provides generally for the determination of capacity for work for the purposes of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and in particular provides for two tests of incapacity (the own occupation test and the all work test). These Regulations make consequential amendments to the principal Regulations in preparation for the coming into force of the 1994 Act, including:

• (a) provision that a claimant’s obligation to provide a doctor’s statement or other evidence specified in the principal Regulations applies only in respect of days up to assessment for the purposes of the all work test (regulation 2(3)(a)(i)); and

• (b) provision for a new form of doctor’s statement in cases where the all work test applies (regulation 2(3)(a)(ii) and the Schedule).

As these Regulations are consequential upon the 1994 Act and are made before the expiry of 6 months from the date of coming into force of that Act, they are accordingly exempt by section 173(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1992 c. 5.

[^f00002]: 1994 c. 18.

[^f00003]: See section 173(5)(b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5), the effect of which is that regulations which are made consequential upon a specified enactment and before the end of 6 months from the coming into force of that enactment are not required to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

[^f00004]: S.I. 1976/615; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1982/699, 1989/1686 and 1992/247.

[^f00005]: 1992 c. 4.