The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit — Increases for Dependants) Regulations 1994

PART IE+W+S General

Citation, commencement and interpretationE+W+S

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit — Increases for Dependents) Regulations 1994 and shall come into force as follows–

except for regulation 15(6)(b)(i) and (c)(i), on 13th April 1995;

regulation 15(6)(b)(i) and (c)(i) on 13th May 1995.

(2) In these Regulations–

“the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992 M1;

“benefit week” means a period of seven days ending with the day on which the benefit is due to be paid;

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

“entitled to child benefit” includes treated as so entitled;

“parent” has the meaning that it bears for the purposes of Part IX of the Contributions and Benefits Act (child benefit);

“standard rate of increase” means the amount specified in column (3) of Part IV of Schedule 4 to the Contributions and Benefits Act which is appropriate in the case of the beneficiary.

(3) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires–

(a)a reference to a numbered section is a reference to the section of the Contributions and Benefits Act which bears that number;

(b)a reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation in these Regulations which bears that number; and

(c)a reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph in that regulation which bears that number.

Provisions as to maintenance for the purposes of increase of benefit in respect of dependantsE+W+S

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a beneficiary shall not, for the purposes of the Contributions and Benefits Act in so far as they relate to incapacity benefit and of these Regulations, be deemed to be wholly or mainly maintaining another person unless the beneficiary–

(a)when incapable of work, contributes towards the maintenance of that person an amount not less than the amount of increase of benefit received in respect of that person; and

(b)when in employment, or not incapable of work, (except in a case where the dependency did not arise until after that time) contributed more than half of the actual cost of maintenance of that person.

(2) In a case where–

(a)a person is partly maintained by each of 2 or more other persons each of whom could be entitled to an increase of benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act in respect of that person if he were wholly or mainly maintaining that person, and

(b)the contributions made by those other persons towards the maintenance of that person amount in the aggregate to sums which, if they were contributed by one of them, would be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1),

that person shall for purposes of the Contributions and Benefits Act in so far as they relate to incapacity benefit, be deemed to be wholly or mainly maintained by that one of the said other persons who–

(i)makes the larger or largest contribution to the maintenance of that person, or

(ii)in a case where no person makes the larger or largest contribution, is the elder or eldest of the said other persons, or

(iii)in any case, is a person designated in that behalf by a notice in writing signed by a majority of the said other persons and addressed to the Secretary of State,

so long as that one of the said other persons continues to be entitled to benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act and to satisfy the condition contained in paragraph (1)(a).

(3) A notice given under paragraph (2) and the designation contained in it may be revoked at any time by a fresh notice signed by a majority of such persons and another one of their number may be designated thereby, and accordingly the provisions of that paragraph shall apply to the one so last designated.

[F1Disapplication of section 1(1A) of the Administration ActE+W+S

2A.  Section 1(1A) of the Administration Act (requirement to state national insurance number) shall not apply—

F2(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)to an adult dependant in respect of whom a claim for an increase of incapacity benefit is made or treated as made before 5th October 1998.]

[F3 Allocation of contributions for a spouse [F4or civil partner] E+W+S

3.—(1) For the purposes of the Contributions and Benefits Act insofar as it relates to incapacity benefit, any sum paid by a person by way of contribution towards the maintenance of his spouse [F5or civil partner] shall be treated for the purposes of regulations 9 and 12 as such contributions of such respective amounts equal in aggregate to the sum in respect of his spouse [F5or civil partner] as would secure as large a payment as possible by way of benefit in respect of dependants.]

Deeming abated benefit to be a contribution for the maintenance of child or adult dependantsE+W+S

4.  Where for any period a person (in this regulation referred to as A) is entitled to, or to an increase in the amount of, any benefit prescribed under section 74(3)(a) of the Administration Act (income support and other payments) in respect of another person (in this regulation referred to as B) and the amount of, or of the increase in, any such benefit is abated under that section, then in determining for the purpose of the Contributions and Benefits Act whether A is wholly or mainly maintaining or is contributing at any weekly rate to the maintenance of, or is or has been contributing at any weekly rate to the cost of providing for, B, the amount by which such benefit for any week has been so abated shall be deemed to be a contribution of that amount for that week made by A for the maintenance of B.

Attribution of earningsE+W+S

F65.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .