The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Modification)) Order 2017

Made: 28th September 2017

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 150(3) and (4)(a), (b)(i) and (c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012[^f00001]:

Citation

1

This Order may be cited as the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Modification)) Order 2017.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In this Order—

• “claimant”— in relation to an employment and support allowance, has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007[^f00002]; in relation to a jobseeker’s allowance, has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995[^f00003] (as it applies apart from the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 that remove references to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance); in relation to universal credit, has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012[^f00004];

• “the Claims and Payments Regulations 1987” means the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987[^f00005];

• “employment and support allowance” means an employment and support allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

• “jobseeker’s allowance” means a jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995;

• “the No. 17 Order” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2014[^f00006];

• “the No. 19 Order” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 19 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2014[^f00007];

• “the No. 22 Order” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 22 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2015[^f00008];

• “the No. 23 Order” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 23 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2015[^f00009];

• “the No. 24 Order” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2015[^f00010].

• (2) For the purposes of this Order, the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013[^f00011] apply for the purpose of deciding—

• (a) whether a claim for universal credit is made; and

• (b) the date on which the claim is made.

• (3) For the purposes of this Order, the Claims and Payments Regulations 1987 apply, subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), for the purposes of deciding—

• (a) whether a claim for an employment and support allowance or a jobseeker’s allowance is made; and

• (b) the date on which the claim is made or treated as made.

• (4) Subject to paragraph (5), for the purposes of this Order—

• (a) a person makes a claim for an employment and support allowance or a jobseeker’s allowance if that person takes any action which results in a decision on a claim being required under the Claims and Payments Regulations 1987; and

• (b) it is irrelevant that the effect of any provision of those Regulations is that, for the purposes of those Regulations, the claim is made or treated as made at a date that is earlier than the date on which that action is taken.

• (5) Where, by virtue of—

• (a) regulation 6(1F)(b) or (c) of the Claims and Payments Regulations 1987[^f00012], in the case of a claim for an employment and support allowance; or

• (b) regulation 6(4ZA) to (4ZD) and (4A)(a)(i) and (b) of those Regulations[^f00013], in the case of a claim for a jobseeker’s allowance,

a claim for an employment and support allowance or a jobseeker’s allowance is treated as made at a date that is earlier than the date on which the action referred to in paragraph (4)(a) is taken, the claim is treated as made on that earlier date.

Modification of the No. 17 Order, the No. 19 Order, the No. 22 Order and the No. 24 Order: removal of the gateway conditions

3

The provisions specified in the first column of the table in the Schedule have effect as though the reference in those provisions to meeting the gateway conditions were omitted, in respect of a claim for universal credit that is made, or a claim for an employment and support allowance or a jobseeker’s allowance that is made or treated as made, by a claimant residing in any postcode specified in the corresponding entry in the second column, on or after the date specified in the corresponding entry in the third column.

Modifications of the No. 17 Order, the No. 19 Order, the No. 22 Order and the No. 24 Order in consequence of removal of the gateway conditions

4

• (1) This article applies in respect of claims in relation to which provisions of the No. 17 Order, the No. 19 Order, the No. 22 Order and the No. 24 Order are modified by article 3.

• (2) Where this article applies, the following modifications also have effect—

• (a) those made to the No. 17 Order by article 10(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 29 and Commencement No. 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Modification)) Order 2017[^f00014]; and

• (b) those made to the No. 19 Order, the No. 22 Order and the No. 24 Order by articles 13(2), 14(2) and 15(2) respectively of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 19, 22, 23 and 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Modification)) Order 2016[^f00015].

Modification of the No. 23 Order: claims for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit

5

• (1) This article applies in respect of claims in relation to which the provisions referred to in paragraph (2)(a) to (d) are modified by article 3.

• (2) Where this article applies, article 7 of the No. 23 Order (prevention of claims for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit)[^f00016] applies as though the reference in paragraph (1) of that article to article 3(1) and (2)(a) to (c) of that Order included a reference to—

• (a) paragraph (1) and sub-paragraphs (c), (e) and (k) of paragraph (2) of article 3 of the No. 17 Order;

• (b) paragraph (1) and sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (f), (g) and (i) to (l) of paragraph (2) of article 3 of the No. 19 Order;

• (c) paragraph (1) and sub-paragraphs (b), (e) to (j), (l), (n) and (p) to (u) of paragraph (2) of article 3 of the No. 22 Order; and

• (d) paragraph (1) and sub-paragraphs (a) to (m), (o) to (u) and (w) to (bb) of paragraph (2) of article 3 of the No. 24 Order.

SCHEDULE — POSTCODE DISTRICTS AND PART-DISTRICTS WHERE GATEWAY CONDITIONS REMOVED

Signed

David Gauke — Secretary of State — Department for Work and Pensions — 28th September 2017

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order modifies a series of prior Orders (the “prior commencement Orders”, defined below) bringing into force provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) (“the Act”) relating to universal credit (“UC”) and the abolition of income-related employment and support allowance and income-based jobseeker’s allowance.Those prior commencement Orders are:

• (a) the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1583 (C. 61));

• (b) the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 19 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/2321 (C. 99));

• (c) the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 22 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/101 (C. 6) (“the No. 22 Order”)); and

• (d) the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1537 (C. 87) (“the No. 24 Order”)).

Articles 3 and 4 of each of the prior commencement Orders brought into force respectively provisions relating to UC in Part 1 of the Act (“the UC provisions”), as set out in Schedule 2 to 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) (“the No. 9 Order”)), and provisions of the Act relating to the abolition of income-related employment and support allowance and income-based jobseeker’s allowance (“the amending provisions”).

The modifications to the provisions of articles 3(2) and 4(2) of the prior commencement Orders by article 3 of this Order remove the restrictions on claiming UC included in the prior commencement Orders (“the gateway conditions”, set out in Schedule 5 to the No. 9 Order) so that they do not apply to the specified provisions of articles 3(2) and 4(2) of the prior commencement Orders (for the coming into force of the UC provisions and the amending provisions) specified in the first column of the table in the Schedule to this Order, in the postcode districts and part-districts specified in the corresponding entry in the second column of the table.The modifications apply by reference to residence in those areas where claims are made (as the case may be) for universal credit, an employment and support allowance or a jobseeker’s allowance on or after the dates in the corresponding entry in the third column of the table.

Article 4 of this Order makes consequential modifications to a number of similar provisions in each of the prior commencement Orders to remove references to meeting the gateway conditions.By virtue of the gateway conditions no longer applying, claims by couples will become possible for the first time in certain of the designated postcodes, those for which the UC provisions were commenced under the No. 22 Order and the No. 24 Order for single UC claimants only.The consequential modifications to those Orders also make provision for claims by couples.

Article 5 modifies article 7 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 23 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2015 ([S.I. 2015/634 (C. 32)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/634)) such that, save in specified cases, a person may not make a claim for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit on any date where, if that person made a claim for UC on that date, the UC provisions would come into force by virtue of any of the sub-paragraphs of article 3(2) of the prior commencement Orders modified by article 3 of this Order.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2012 c. 5.

[^f00002]: 2007 c. 5.

[^f00003]: 1995 c. 18.

[^f00004]: See section 40.

[^f00005]: S.I. 1987/1968.

[^f00006]: S.I. 2014/1583 (C. 61).

[^f00007]: S.I. 2014/2321 (C. 99).

[^f00008]: S.I. 2015/101 (C. 6).

[^f00009]: S.I. 2015/634 (C. 32).

[^f00010]: S.I. 2015/1537 (C. 87).

[^f00011]: S.I. 2013/380.

[^f00012]: Paragraph (1F) was inserted by S.I. 2008/1554 and substituted by S.I. 2009/1490.

[^f00013]: Paragraphs (4ZA) to (4ZD) were inserted by S.I. 2000/1982 and paragraph (4ZC) was amended by S.I. 2009/1490.Paragraph (4A) was inserted by S.I. 1996/1460, substituted by S.I. 1997/793 and amended by S.I. 1999/3108, 2000/1982 and 2009/1490.

[^f00014]: S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00015]: S.I. 2016/963.

[^f00016]: Paragraphs (1) and (10)(b) of article 7 were amended by S.I. 2015/740 (C. 39).Paragraph (1) was modified by S.I. 2015/1930 (C. 118), 2016/33 (C. 3), 407 (C. 20), 596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).Paragraph (2) was amended by S.I. 2017/376.

[^f00017]: Articles 3(2)(e) and 4(2)(i) and (j) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00018]: Articles 3(2)(g) and 4(2)(m) and (n) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00019]: Articles 3(2)(h) and 4(2)(o) and (p) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00020]: Articles 3(2)(n) and 4(2)(aa) and (bb) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00021]: Articles 3(2)(r) and 4(2)(ii) and (jj) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5) and 584 (C. 53) .

[^f00022]: Articles 3(2)(s) and 4(2)(kk) and (ll) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00023]: Articles 3(2)(t) and 4(2)(mm) and (nn) were modified by S.I. 2016/33 (C.3) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00024]: Articles 3(2)(c) and 4(2)(e) and (f) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00025]: Articles 3(2)(f) and 4(2)(k) and (l) were modified by S.I. 2017/584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00026]: Articles 3(2)(m) and 4(2)(y) and (z) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5).

[^f00027]: Articles 3(2)(s) and 4(2)(kk) and (ll) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5).

[^f00028]: Articles 3(2)(b) and 4(2)(b) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00029]: Articles 3(2)(p) and 4(2)(ee) and (ff) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5).

[^f00030]: Articles 3(2)(a) and 4(2)(a) and (b) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00031]: Articles 3(2)(b) and 4(2)(c) and (d) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5) and 584 (C. 53).

[^f00032]: Articles 3(2)(g) and 4(2)(m) and (n) were modified by S.I. 2017/584 (C. 53).

[^f00033]: Articles 3(2)(h) and 4(2)(o) and (p) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00034]: Articles 3(2)(l) and 4(2)(w) and (x) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00035]: Articles 3(2)(o) and 4(2)(cc) and (dd) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00036]: Articles 3(2)(p) and 4(2)(ee) and (ff) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00037]: Articles 3(2)(t) and 4(2)(mm) and (nn) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5) and 584 (C. 53).

[^f00038]: Articles 3(2)(aa) and 4(2)(aaa) and (bbb) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00039]: Articles 3(2)(f) and 4(2)(k) and (l) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00040]: Articles 3(2)(j) and 4(2)(s) and (t) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00041]: Articles 3(2)(k) and 4(2)(u) and (v) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/584 (C. 53).

[^f00042]: Articles 3(2)(u) and 4(2)(oo) and (pp) were modified by S.I. 2017/584 (C. 53).

[^f00043]: Articles 3(2)(j) and 4(2)(j) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 963 .

[^f00044]: Articles 3(2)(b) and 4(2)(c) and (d) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5) and 584 (C. 53).

[^f00045]: Articles 3(2)(d) and 4(2)(g) and (h) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00046]: Articles 3(2)(q) and 4(2)(gg) and (hh) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00047]: Articles 3(2)(l) and 4(2)(w) and (x) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00048]: Articles 3(2)(i) and 4(2)(q) and (r) were modified by S.I. 2017/584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00049]: Articles 3(2)(z) and 4(2)(yy) and (zz) were modified by S.I. 2017/584 (C. 53).

[^f00050]: Articles 3(2)(bb) and 4(2)(ccc) and (ddd) were modified by S.I. 2016/596 (C. 41) and 2017/584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00051]: Articles 3(2)(k) and 4(2)(k) were modified by S.I. 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00052]: Articles 3(2)(i) and 4(2)(q) and (r) were modified by S.I. 2016/33 (C. 3), 407 (C. 20) and 596 (C. 41) and 2017/57 (C. 5), 584 (C. 53) and 664 (C. 56).

[^f00053]: Articles 3(2)(e) and 4(2)(i) and (j) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/57 (C. 5).

[^f00054]: Articles 3(2)(r) and 4(2)(ii) and (jj) were modified by S.I. 2016/963 and 2017/664 (C. 56).

[^f00055]: Articles 3(2)(y) and 4(2)(ww) and (xx) were modified by S.I. 2017/57 (C. 5).

[^f00056]: S.I. 2012/1246 (C. 42) was amended by S.I. 2012/1440 (C. 55) and 2530 (C. 102).