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Social Security Administration Act 1992

Type Public General Act

Publication 1992-02-13

Last updated 2026-04-06

State In force

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(b) the Secretary of State has been given EVM information that is relevant to the question whether the earlier decision should be revised or superseded.

(7) The Secretary of State must have regard to all information that the Secretary of State has that is relevant to the question whether the earlier decision should be revised or superseded, including information that is not EVM information.

6

(1) This Schedule does not require or authorise any disclosure of information that is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

(2) Any disclosure of information carried out in accordance with this Schedule (as read subject to sub-paragraph (1)) does not breach—

(a) any obligation of confidence owed by the person disclosing the information, or

(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

Part 2 — Penalties

7

(1) If the Secretary of State considers that a person given an eligibility verification notice—

(a) has failed to comply with the notice within the period specified, and

(b) has no reasonable excuse for the failure,

the Secretary of State may impose a penalty (a “fixed penalty”) on the person.

(2) But the Secretary of State may not impose a fixed penalty before—

(a) giving the person an opportunity to make representations about their compliance, and

(b) if the person has sought a review of the notice under paragraph 13, the conclusion of that review.

(3) The Secretary of State imposes a fixed penalty by giving the person a notice of the penalty (a “fixed penalty notice”).

(4) A fixed penalty notice must state—

(a) the reason for the penalty,

(b) the amount of the penalty, and

(5) A fixed penalty may not exceed £1,000.

(6) The Secretary of State may vary or revoke a fixed penalty notice by giving notice to the person to whom it was given.

(7) The Secretary of State may not impose more than one fixed penalty in respect of an eligibility verification notice except a periodic eligibility verification notice.

(8) In the case of a periodic eligibility verification notice, the Secretary of State may not impose more than one fixed penalty in respect of each specified interval.

8

(1) The Secretary of State may impose a penalty (a “daily rate penalty”) on a person if—

(a) a fixed penalty has been imposed on the person in relation to a failure to comply with an eligibility verification notice, and

(b) the Secretary of State considers that the person’s failure to comply without reasonable excuse is continuing.

(2) The Secretary of State imposes a daily rate penalty by giving the person a notice of the penalty (a “daily rate penalty notice”).

(3) A daily rate penalty notice must state—

(a) the reason for the penalty,

(b) the daily rate of the penalty, and

(c) that the penalty will be payable in relation to each day by the end of which the person has failed to comply with the eligibility verification notice or such earlier date as may be specified or described in the notice.

(4) The daily rate of a daily rate penalty may not exceed £40.

(5) The Secretary of State may vary or revoke a daily rate penalty notice by giving notice to the person to whom it was given.

(6) The Secretary of State may not impose more than one daily rate penalty in respect of an eligibility verification notice except a periodic eligibility verification notice.

(7) In the case of a periodic eligibility verification notice, the Secretary of State may not impose more than one daily rate penalty in respect of each specified interval.

9

(1) This paragraph applies if—

(a) a daily rate penalty is imposed on a person,

(b) the failure to which the penalty relates continues for more than 30 days beginning with the first day on which the daily rate penalty is payable, and

(c) the person has been notified that the Secretary of State may apply for an increased daily rate penalty to be payable.

(2) The Secretary of State may make an application to the Tribunal for an increased daily rate penalty to be payable by the person.

(3) If the Tribunal determines that an increased daily rate penalty must be paid, it must determine—

(a) the increased daily rate, and

(b) the date from which the increased rate begins to be payable.

(4) In deciding the increased daily rate, the Tribunal, must, in particular, have regard to—

(a) the likely cost to the person of complying with the eligibility verification notice,

(b) any benefits to the person in not complying with it, and

(5) The Tribunal may not determine a daily rate that exceeds £1,000.

(6) The Secretary of State must notify the person of the Tribunal’s determination.

10

(1) The Secretary of State may impose a penalty (an “inaccurate information penalty”) on a person under this paragraph if the Secretary of State considers that—

(a) in complying with an eligibility verification notice, the person has given the Secretary of State inaccurate information, and

(b) condition A, B or C is met.

(2) Condition A is that the inaccuracy was—

(a) deliberate, or

(b) due to a failure, without reasonable excuse, by the person to take reasonable care.

(3) Condition B is that the person—

(a) knew of the inaccuracy at the time of giving the information,

(b) failed to inform the Secretary of State at that time, and

(4) Condition C is that the person—

(a) discovered the inaccuracy some time later,

(b) failed to take reasonable steps to inform the Secretary of State, and

(5) The Secretary of State may impose a penalty (a “prohibited information penalty”) under this paragraph if the person, without reasonable excuse, gives the Secretary of State information in contravention of paragraph 1(5) (transaction information or special category data).

(6) But the Secretary of State may not impose a penalty under this paragraph before giving the person an opportunity to make representations about—

(a) in the case of an inaccurate information penalty, whether or not—

(i) the information is inaccurate;

(ii) condition A, B or C is met;

(b) in the case of a prohibited information penalty, whether or not the person has given information in contravention of paragraph 1(5) without any reasonable excuse.

(7) The Secretary of State imposes a penalty under this paragraph by giving a notice (an “information penalty notice”).

(8) An information penalty notice must state—

(a) the reason for the penalty,

(b) the amount of the penalty, and

(9) A penalty under this paragraph may not exceed £3,000.

(10) The Secretary of State may vary or revoke an information penalty notice by giving notice to the person to whom it was given.

11

(1) In England and Wales, a penalty imposed under this Part of this Schedule is recoverable—

(a) if the county court so orders, as if it were payable under an order of that court;

(b) if the High Court so orders, as if it were payable under an order of that court.

(2) In Scotland, a penalty imposed under this Part of this Schedule may be enforced in the same manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

12

Regulations may amend the amount for the time being specified in paragraph 7(5), 8(4), 9(5) or 10(9) to reflect a change in the value of money.

Part 3 — Reviews

13

(1) A person to whom an eligibility verification notice is given may apply to the Secretary of State for a review of the decision to give the notice.

(2) An application under sub-paragraph (1) must be made within the period of 14 days beginning with the day on which the notice is given.

(3) On a review, the Secretary of State may—

(a) revoke the notice,

(b) uphold the notice, or

(4) After a review has been carried out, the Secretary of State must—

(a) notify the person who applied for the review of the outcome of the review, and

(b) if the outcome was to vary the notice, give the person the varied notice.

(5) Where an application for a review of an eligibility verification notice is made under sub-paragraph (1) —

(a) the notice is of no effect until the application is determined or withdrawn, and

(b) if the notice is upheld or varied, the period for compliance (or the first period for compliance in the case of a periodic eligibility verification notice) begins with the day on which the outcome of the review is notified to the person to whom the eligibility verification notice was given.

Part 4 — Appeals

14

(1) A person who is given an eligibility verification notice may appeal to the Tribunal against the notice on any of the following grounds—

(a) the person is not a person to whom an eligibility verification notice may be given;

(b) the notice is not in accordance with this Schedule;

(2) An appeal under sub-paragraph (1) may not be brought after the end of—

(a) the period of 14 days beginning with—

(i) the day on which the eligibility verification notice was given, or

(ii) if the person seeks a review of the notice under paragraph 13, the day on which the person is notified of the outcome of the review, or

(b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(3) On an appeal under sub-paragraph (1), the Tribunal may—

(a) amend the eligibility verification notice,

(b) revoke the eligibility verification notice, or

(4) Where an appeal under sub-paragraph (1) is brought against an eligibility verification notice the notice is of no effect until the appeal is determined or withdrawn, unless the Tribunal orders otherwise.

15

(1) A person on whom a penalty is imposed under Part 2 of this Schedule may appeal to the Tribunal against—

(a) the penalty;

(b) the amount of the penalty;

(2) But a person may not appeal against a decision of the Tribunal to increase a daily rate penalty under paragraph 9.

(3) An appeal under sub-paragraph (1) may not be brought after the end of—

(a) the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the penalty notice in relation to the penalty being appealed was given, or

(b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(4) On an appeal under sub-paragraph (1), the Tribunal may—

(a) revoke the decision to impose the penalty;

(b) amend the amount of the penalty;

(d) dismiss the appeal.

(5) If an appeal is brought under sub-paragraph (1), the penalty which is the subject of the appeal is not payable until the appeal is determined or withdrawn.

16

(1) If the Tribunal confirms or varies an eligibility verification notice or the imposition of a penalty on an appeal under this Part of this Schedule, the person to whom the notice was given, or on whom the penalty was imposed, must comply with the notice or pay the penalty—

(a) within such period as may be specified by the Tribunal, or

(b) if the Tribunal does not specify a period, within such period as may be specified by the Secretary of State and notified to the person.

(2) A decision by the Tribunal on an appeal under this Part of this Schedule is final (despite the provisions of sections 11 and 13 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007).

Part 5 — Code of practice

17

(1) The Secretary of State must issue a code of practice about eligibility verification notices before giving the first such notice under this Schedule.

(2) The code of practice must include provision about—

(a) the exercise of the power to issue an eligibility verification notice;

(b) the processing, use and retention of information given in response to an eligibility verification notice;

(c) the circumstances in which the Secretary of State will regard a person as having complied with an eligibility verification notice;

(d) the imposition of penalties in relation to an eligibility verification notice;

(e) reviews under paragraph 13.

(3) Before issuing the code of practice, the Secretary of State must carry out a public consultation on a draft of the code.

(4) The Secretary of State must lay the code of practice before Parliament.

(5) The requirement in sub-paragraph (3) may be satisfied by public consultation carried out before this paragraph comes into force.

18

(1) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise and re-issue the code of practice issued under paragraph 17.

(2) Paragraph 17(3)and (4) apply in relation to a re-issue of a code of practice as they apply in relation to the issue of the first code of practice.

(3) But paragraph 17(3) does not apply if the only changes to be made to the code of practice are—

(a) updates to references to legislation or documents which have become out of date, or

(b) in the opinion of the Secretary of State, other minor corrections.

Part 6 — General provision and interpretation

19

(1) In this Schedule “relevant benefit” means any of the following benefits—

(a) universal credit;

(b) employment and support allowance;

(2) Regulations may amend this paragraph so as to add, or remove, types of benefit to, or from, the definition of “relevant benefit”.

(3) Regulations under sub-paragraph (2) may add a type of benefit only to the extent that the benefit is administered by, or on behalf of, the Secretary of State.

20

(1) In this Schedule “relevant account” means a personal account which operates as—

(a) a current account,

(b) a savings account, or

including such an account which operates by reference to electronic money.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) “personal account” means an account held by one or more individuals other than an account that is provided for purposes relating to a trade, business or profession;

(b) a current account includes any account—

(i) in which individuals can hold, and from which individuals can withdraw, money, and

(ii) which is designed to allow the holder’s money to be used for executing transactions with third parties,

but does not include credit card accounts or current account mortgages;

(c) “electronic money” has the meaning it has in the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/99) (see regulation 2(1)).

(3) In this Schedule a reference to a person holding an account includes a reference to—

(a) a person holding an account jointly with one or more other persons, and

(b) an account being, in any way, in the person’s name,

and “holder” is to be read accordingly.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (5) to (8) apply for the purposes of this Schedule where an eligibility verification notice is given to a body corporate (“P”).

(5) The reference in paragraph 1(3)(a) to P providing an account includes a reference to another person in the same group as P providing an account if the condition in sub-paragraph (6) is met.

(6) The condition is that P—

(a) is able to identify accounts provided by the other person that are within paragraph 1(3)(b), and

(b) is able to obtain the information about those accounts mentioned in paragraph 1(4).

(7) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (5), two persons are in the same group if both are bodies corporate and—

(a) one of them is a subsidiary of the other, or

(b) both of them are subsidiaries of the same body corporate.

(8) In sub-paragraph (7), “subsidiary” has the meaning given by section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006.

21

In this Schedule, references to giving a notice or other document (however expressed) include sending the notice or document by post.

22

In this Schedule—

“benefit” means—any relevant social security benefit as defined in section 121DA(7), other than a state pension, andany payment mentioned in subsection (2)(d) of section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973, under arrangements made under that section;

“daily rate penalty” means a penalty imposed under paragraph 8(1);

“eligibility indicators” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(3)(b)(ii) (and see paragraph 3 for conditions that eligibility indicators must meet);

“eligibility verification notice” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(1);

“fixed penalty” means a penalty imposed under paragraph 7(1);

“incorrect payment” , in relation to a benefit, has the meaning given in paragraph 1(9);

“notice” means notice in writing (and “notify” is to be read accordingly);

“periodic eligibility verification notice” has the meaning given in paragraph 4(4);

“personal data” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(2) of that Act);

“processing”, in relation to information, has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(4) of that Act);

“special category data” means the types of personal data the processing of which is prohibited (to any extent) from time to time under Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation);

“specified” means specified or described in an eligibility verification notice, unless the context requires otherwise;

“state pension” means—a state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2014;a retirement pension, including a Graduated Retirement Benefit, under Part 2 or 3 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;a shared additional pension under Part 2 of that Act;

“transaction information”, in relation to an account, means information which—may enable the identification of the subject matter or the amount of a transaction completed through the account, ormay enable the identification of a party to such a transaction who is not a holder of the account,but does not include information which relates to the payment of a relevant benefit into the account;

“the Tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal.

23

Nothing in this Schedule limits the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 109B and 109BZA (powers to require information) (but this is subject to paragraph 5).

80F

(1) An officer of the Secretary of State who is authorised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section has a right of audience and the right to conduct litigation in relation to proceedings for or in connection with the recovery of overpayments under a provision of this Part before—

(a) a magistrates’ court,

(b) the county court, and

(2) In this section, “right of audience” and “right to conduct litigation” have the same meanings as in section 119 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

Recovery of non-benefit payments

71ZI

(1) For the purposes of this section and sections 71ZJ and 71ZK, an overpayment of a non-benefit payment occurs where—

(a) a person (“P”) misrepresents, or fails to disclose, a material fact, and

(b) in consequence of the misrepresentation or failure, P or another person receives a non-benefit payment, or an amount of a non-benefit payment, (whether directly or indirectly) that they would not otherwise have received,

and the “overpayment” is that payment or amount.

(2) The overpayment is recoverable from P as if it were an amount recoverable under section 71(1) if, in relation to the misrepresentation or failure to disclose, P—

(a) is convicted of an offence (under this Act or any other enactment), or

(b) agrees to pay a penalty under section 115A.

(3) But subsection (2) is subject to section 71ZJ.

(4) The right to recover an overpayment under this section does not affect any other right that the Secretary of State may have to recover the overpayment (or any other amount in relation to the non-benefit payment).

(5) In this section and sections 71ZJ and 71ZK, “non-benefit payment” has the meaning given by section 121DA(5).

71ZJ

(1) Before exercising powers under this Act to recover an overpayment of a non-benefit payment from a person (“P”)—

(a) the Secretary of State must give a notice (an “overpayment notice”) to P, and

(b) the condition in subsection (5) must be met (opportunity for P to challenge the notice).

(2) The Secretary of State may give P an overpayment notice only if—

(a) P has been convicted of an offence (under this Act or any other enactment), or

(b) it appears to the Secretary of State that there are grounds to institute proceedings against P for an offence (under this Act or any other enactment),

in relation to the overpayment.

(3) An overpayment notice must—

(a) state the amount that the Secretary of State regards as an overpayment,

(b) provide the Secretary of State’s reasons for regarding that amount as an overpayment,

(d) set out P’s right to seek a review of the notice and the right to appeal the outcome of that review (see section 71ZK).

(4) In subsection (3)(c), the reference to the effect of the giving of the overpayment notice is a reference to the Secretary of State’s powers to—

(a) invite P to agree to a penalty under section 115A in relation to the overpayment;

(b) recover the overpayment (if P agrees to pay such a penalty, or is convicted of an offence, in relation to the overpayment).

(5) The condition in this subsection is met where—

(a) the time for P to seek a review of the overpayment notice has passed without P seeking a review, or

(b) if P sought a review of the notice within the time allowed, the review has taken place and—

(i) the period mentioned in section 71ZK(6)(a) for P to appeal against the outcome of the review has passed without P bringing an appeal, or

(ii) P’s appeal (including any onward appeal) against the outcome of the review has been withdrawn, abandoned or finally determined.

71ZK

(1) A person (“P”) given an overpayment notice under section 71ZJ may apply to the Secretary of State for a review of the notice on the following grounds—

(a) that there has been no overpayment of a non-benefit payment, or

(b) that the amount stated in the notice is not correct.

(2) An application under subsection (1) must be made before the end of the period of 1 month beginning with the day after the day on which P was given the notice.

(3) On a review, the Secretary of State may—

(a) uphold the notice,

(b) amend the notice, or

(4) The Secretary of State must notify P of the outcome of the review.

(5) Where an overpayment notice is upheld or varied on a review, P may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against the notice on the following grounds—

(a) that there has been no overpayment, or

(b) that the amount stated in the notice is not correct.

(6) An appeal under subsection (5) may not be brought after the end of—

(a) the period of 1 month beginning with the day after the day on which P is notified of the outcome of the review, or

(b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(7) The First-tier Tribunal may—

(a) uphold the notice,

(b) vary the notice, or

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