Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Social Security Administration Act 1992

Type Public General Act

Publication 1992-02-13

Last updated 2026-04-06

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

articles Not indexed

Reform history JSON API

(ii) circumstances in which a partner is or is not to be regarded as having or not having good cause for any such failure.

(5) Regulations under this section may, in relation to a reduction under subsection (4)(f), provide—

(a) for the amount of the reduction to be calculated in the first instance by reference to such amount as may be prescribed;

(b) for the amount as so calculated to be restricted, in prescribed circumstances, to the prescribed extent;

(c) where the claimant is entitled to two or more benefits in relation to each of which a requirement to take part in a work-focused interview applied, for determining the extent to, and the order in, which those benefits are to be reduced in order to give effect to the reduction required in his case.

(6) Regulations under this section may provide that any requirement to take part in a work-focused interview that would otherwise apply to a partner by virtue of the regulations—

(a) is, in any prescribed circumstances, either not to apply or not to apply until the specified time;

(b) is not to apply if the designated authority determines that such an interview would not be of assistance to him or appropriate in the circumstances;

(c) is not to apply until such time as the designated authority determines (if that authority determines that such an interview would not be of assistance to him or appropriate in the circumstances until that time);

and the regulations may make provision for treating a partner to whom any such requirement does not apply, or does not apply until a particular time, as having complied with that requirement to such extent and for such purposes as are specified.

(6A) Information supplied in pursuance of regulations under this section shall be taken for all purposes to be information relating to social security.

(7) In this section—

“couple” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“designated authority” means such of the following as may be specified, namely—the Secretary of State,a person providing services to the Secretary of State,a local authority, and subject to subsection (8), a county council in England, subject to subsection (8), a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, any authority mentioned in paragraph (c) or (ca);

“partner” means a person who is a member of the same couple as the claimant;

“specified” means prescribed by or determined in accordance with regulations; and

“work-focused interview” has the same meaning as in section 2A above.

(8) A county council in England or a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any function of, such a council may be specified as the designated authority only in relation to interviews with persons to whom the council is required to make support services available under section 68(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (support services: provision by local authorities).

2B

(1) Chapter II of Part I of the Social Security Act 1998 (social security decisions and appeals) shall have effect in relation to relevant decisions made under regulations under section 2A or 2AA subject to and in accordance with subsections (3) to (8) below (and in those subsections “the 1998 Act” means that Act).

(2) For the purposes of this section a “relevant decision” , in relation to regulations under section 2A above, is a decision that a person—

(a) has failed to comply with a requirement to take part in an interview which applied to him by virtue of the regulations, or

(b) has not shown, within the prescribed period mentioned in section 2A(3)(e)(ii) above, that he had good cause for such a failure.

(2A) For the purposes of this section a “relevant decision”, in relation to regulations under section 2AA above, is a decision that—

(a) the partner of a person entitled to a benefit has failed to comply with a requirement to take part in an interview which applied to the partner by virtue of the regulations, or

(b) it has not been shown, within the prescribed period mentioned in section 2AA(4)(f)(ii) above, that the partner had good cause for such a failure.

(3) Section 8(1)(c) of the 1998 Act (decisions falling to be made under or by virtue of certain enactments are to be made by the Secretary of State) shall have effect subject to any provisions of regulations under section 2A or 2AA above by virtue of which relevant decisions fall to be made otherwise than by the Secretary of State.

(4) For the purposes of each of sections 9 and 10 of the 1998 Act (revision and supersession of decisions of Secretary of State) any relevant decision made otherwise than by the Secretary of State shall be treated as if it were such a decision made by the Secretary of State (and accordingly may be revised by him under section 9 or superseded by a decision made by him under section 10).

(5) Subject to any provisions of regulations under either section 9 or 10 of the 1998 Act, any relevant decision made, or (by virtue of subsection (4) above) treated as made, by the Secretary of State may be—

(a) revised under section 9 by a person or authority exercising functions under regulations under section 2A or 2AA above other than the Secretary of State, or

(b) superseded under section 10 by a decision made by such a person or authority,

as if that person or authority were the Secretary of State.

(6) Regulations shall make provision for conferring (except in any prescribed circumstances) a right of appeal under section 12 of the 1998 Act (appeal to First-tier Tribunal) against—

(a) any relevant decision, and

(b) any decision under section 10 of that Act superseding any such decision, whether made by the Secretary of State or otherwise.

(7) Subsections (4) to (6) above apply whether—

(a) the relevant decision, or

(b) (in the case of subsection (6)(b)) the decision under section 10 of the 1998 Act,

is as originally made or has been revised (by the Secretary of State or otherwise) under section 9 of that Act; and regulations under subsection (6) above may make provision for treating, for the purposes of section 12 of that Act, any decision made or revised otherwise than by the Secretary of State as if it were a decision made or revised by him.

(8) Section 12 of the 1998 Act shall not apply to any decision falling within subsection (6) above except in accordance with regulations under that subsection.

(9) In ...

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

(b) section 72(6) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (supply of information),

any reference to information relating to social security includes any information supplied by a person for the purposes of an interview which he is required to take part in by virtue of section 2A or 2AA above.

(10) In this section “interview” means a work-focused interview within the meaning of section 2A above.

2C

(1) Regulations may make provision for conferring on local authorities or, subject to subsection (3A), county councils in England functions in connection with conducting work-focused interviews in cases where such interviews are requested or consented to by persons to whom this section applies.

(2) This section applies to —

(a) persons making claims for or entitled to any of the benefits listed in section 2A(2) above or any prescribed benefit; and

(b) partners of persons entitled to any of the benefits listed in section 2AA(2) above or any prescribed benefit;

and it so applies regardless of whether such persons have, in accordance with regulations under section 2A or 2AA above, already taken part in interviews conducted under such regulations.

(3) The functions which may be conferred on a local authority or on a county council in England by regulations under this section include functions relating to—

(a) the obtaining and receiving of information for the purposes of work-focused interviews conducted under the regulations;

(b) the recording and forwarding of information supplied at, or for the purposes of, such interviews;

(c) the taking of steps to identify potential employment or training opportunities for persons taking part in such interviews.

(3A) Regulations under this section may confer functions on a county council in England only in relation to interviews with persons to whom the council is required to make support services available under section 68(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (support services: provision by local authorities).

(4) Regulations under this section may make different provision for different areas or different authorities.

(5) In this section “work-focused interview”, in relation to a person to whom this section applies, means an interview conducted for such purposes connected with employment or training in the case of such a person as may be prescribed; and the purposes which may be so prescribed include—

(a) purposes connected with the existing or future employment or training prospects or needs of such a person, and

(b) (in particular) assisting or encouraging such a person to enhance his employment prospects.

2D

(1) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with imposing on a person who—

(a) is entitled to income support, and

(b) is not a lone parent of a child under the age of 3,

a requirement to undertake work-related activity in accordance with regulations as a condition of continuing to be entitled to the full amount of income support payable apart from the regulations.

(2) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with imposing on a person (“P”) who—

(a) is under pensionable age, and

(b) is a member of a couple the other member of which (“C”) is entitled to a benefit to which subsection (3) applies at a higher rate referable to P,

a requirement to undertake work-related activity in accordance with regulations as a condition of the benefit continuing to be payable to C at that rate.

(3) The benefits to which this subsection applies are—

(a) income support;

(b) an income-based jobseeker's allowance other than a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance; and

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision—

(a) prescribing circumstances in which a person is to be subject to any requirement imposed by the regulations (a “relevant requirement”);

(b) for notifying a person of a relevant requirement;

(c) prescribing the time or times at which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement is required to undertake work-related activity and the amount of work-related activity the person is required at any time to undertake;

(d) prescribing circumstances in which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement is, or is not, to be regarded as undertaking work-related activity;

(e) in a case where C is a member of more than one couple, for determining which of the members of the couples is to be subject to a relevant requirement or requiring each of them to be subject to a relevant requirement;

(f) for securing that the appropriate consequence follows if —

(i) a person who is subject to a relevant requirement has failed to comply with the requirement, and

(ii) it is not shown, within a prescribed period, that the person had good cause for that failure;

(g) prescribing the evidence which a person who is subject to a relevant requirement needs to provide in order to show compliance with the requirement;

(h) prescribing matters which are, or are not, to be taken into account in determining whether a person had good cause for any failure to comply with a relevant requirement;

(i) prescribing circumstances in which a person is, or is not, to be regarded as having good cause for any such failure.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(f) the appropriate consequence is that the amount of the benefit payable is to be reduced by the prescribed amount until the prescribed time.

(6) Regulations under subsection (5) may, in relation to any such reduction, provide—

(a) for the amount of the reduction to be calculated in the first instance by reference to such amount as may be prescribed;

(b) for the amount as so calculated to be restricted, in prescribed circumstances, to the prescribed extent.

(7) Regulations under this section may include provision that in such circumstances as the regulations may provide a person's obligation under the regulations to undertake work-related activity at a particular time is not to apply, or is to be treated as not having applied.

(8) Regulations under this section must include provision for securing that lone parents are entitled (subject to meeting any prescribed conditions) to restrict the times at which they are required to undertake work-related activity.

(9) For the purposes of this section and sections 2E and 2F—

(a) “couple” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(b) “lone parent” means a person who—

(i) is not a member of a couple, and

(ii) is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child;

(d) “work-related activity”, in relation to a person, means activity which makes it more likely that the person will obtain or remain in work or be able to do so;

(e) any reference to a person attaining pensionable age is, in the case of a man born before 6 December 1953, a reference to the time when a woman born on the same day as the man would attain pensionable age;

(f) any reference to a benefit payable to C at a higher rate referable to P is a reference to any case where the amount payable is more than it would be if C and P were not members of the same couple.

(10) For the purposes of this section regulations may make provision—

(a) as to circumstances in which one person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another;

(b) as to circumstances in which persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household.

(11) Information supplied in pursuance of regulations under this section is to be taken for all purposes to be information relating to social security.

2E

(1) The Secretary of State must in prescribed circumstances provide a document (referred to in this section as an “action plan”) prepared for such purposes as may be prescribed to a person who is subject to a requirement imposed under section 2A or 2AA in relation to any of the following benefits.

(2) The benefits are—

(a) income support;

(b) an income-based jobseeker's allowance other than a joint-claim jobseeker's allowance; and

(3) Regulations may make provision about—

(a) the form of action plans;

(b) the content of action plans;

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision for action plans which are provided to a person who is subject under section 2D to a requirement to undertake work-related activity to contain particulars of activity which, if undertaken, would enable the requirement to be met.

(5) Regulations may make provision for reconsideration of an action plan at the request of the person to whom it is provided and may, in particular, make provision about—

(a) the circumstances in which reconsideration may be requested;

(b) the period within which any reconsideration must take place;

(d) notification of the decision on reconsideration;

(e) the giving of directions for the purpose of giving effect to the decision on reconsideration.

(6) In preparing any action plan, the Secretary of State must have regard (so far as practicable) to its impact on the well-being of any person under the age of 16 who may be affected by it.

2F

(1) In prescribed circumstances, the Secretary of State may by direction given to a person subject to a requirement imposed under section 2D provide that the activity specified in the direction is—

(a) to be the only activity which, in the person's case, is to be regarded as being work-related activity; or

(b) to be regarded, in the person's case, as not being work-related activity.

(2) But a direction under subsection (1) may not specify medical or surgical treatment as the only activity which, in any person's case, is to be regarded as being work-related activity.

(3) A direction under subsection (1) given to any person—

(a) must be reasonable, having regard to the person's circumstances;

(b) must be given to the person by being included in an action plan provided to the person under section 2E; and

(4) Where a direction under subsection (1) varies or revokes a previous direction, it may provide for the variation or revocation to have effect from a time before the giving of the direction.

2G

(1) The following functions of the Secretary of State may be exercised by, or by employees of, such person (if any) as the Secretary of State may authorise for the purpose, namely—

(a) conducting interviews under section 2A or 2AA;

(b) providing documents under section 2E;

(2) Regulations may provide for any of the following functions of the Secretary of State to be exercisable by, or by employees of, such person (if any) as the Secretary of State may authorise for the purpose—

(a) any function under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F, except the making of an excluded decision (see subsection (3));

(b) the function under section 9(1) of the 1998 Act (revision of decisions) so far as relating to decisions (other than excluded decisions) that relate to any matter arising under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F;

(c) the function under section 10(1) of the 1998 Act (superseding of decisions) so far as relating to decisions (other than excluded decisions) of the Secretary of State that relate to any matter arising under regulations under any of sections 2A to 2F;

(d) any function under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1998 Act (social security decisions), except section 25(2) and (3) (decisions involving issues arising on appeal in other cases), which relates to the exercise of any of the functions within paragraphs (a) to (c).

(3) Each of the following is an “excluded decision” for the purposes of subsection (2)—

(a) a decision about whether a person has failed to comply with a requirement imposed by regulations under section 2A, 2AA or 2D;

(b) a decision about whether a person had good cause for failure to comply with such a requirement;

(4) Regulations under subsection (2) may provide that a function to which that subsection applies may be exercised—

(a) either wholly or to such extent as the regulations may provide,

(b) either generally or in such cases as the regulations may provide, and

(5) An authorisation given by virtue of any provision made by or under this section may authorise the exercise of the function concerned—

(a) either wholly or to such extent as may be specified in the authorisation,

(b) either generally or in such cases as may be so specified, and

but, in the case of an authorisation given by virtue of regulations under subsection (2), this subsection is subject to the regulations.

(6) An authorisation given by virtue of any provision made by or under this section—

(a) may specify its duration,

(b) may be revoked at any time by the Secretary of State, and

(c) does not prevent the Secretary of State or any other person from exercising the function to which the authorisation relates.

(7) Anything done or omitted to be done by or in relation to an authorised person (or an employee of that person) in, or in connection with, the exercise or purported exercise of the function concerned is to be treated for all purposes as done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the Secretary of State.

(8) But subsection (7) does not apply—

(a) for the purposes of so much of any contract made between the authorised person and the Secretary of State as relates to the exercise of the function, or

(b) for the purposes of any criminal proceedings brought in respect of anything done by the authorised person (or an employee of that person).

(9) Any decision which an authorised person makes in exercise of the function concerned has effect as a decision of the Secretary of State under section 8 of the 1998 Act.

(10) Where—

(a) the authorisation of an authorised person is revoked at any time, and

(b) at the time of the revocation so much of any contract made between the authorised person and the Secretary of State as relates to the exercise of the function is subsisting,

the authorised person is entitled to treat the contract as repudiated by the Secretary of State (and not as frustrated by reason of the revocation).

(11) In this section—

(a) “the 1998 Act” means the Social Security Act 1998;

(b) “authorised person” means a person authorised to exercise any function by virtue of any provision made by or under this section;

(c) references to functions of the Secretary of State under any enactment (including one comprised in regulations) include functions which the Secretary of State has by virtue of the application of section 8(1)(c) of the 1998 Act in relation to the enactment.

Late claims for bereavement benefit where death is difficult to establish

2H

(1) This section applies to any regulations made under section 2A, 2AA or 2D that prescribe matters to be taken into account in determining whether a person has good cause for any failure to comply with the regulations.

(2) The provision made by the regulations prescribing those matters must include provision relating to—

(a) the person's physical or mental health or condition;

(b) the availability of childcare.

Bereavement benefits

7A

(1) Regulations may, for the purpose of supplementing the persons or bodies to whom claims for relevant benefits may be made, make provision—

(a) as regards housing benefit or council tax benefit, for claims for that benefit to be made to—

(i) a Minister of the Crown, or

(ii) a person providing services to a Minister of the Crown;

(b) as regards any other relevant benefit, for claims for that benefit to be made to—

(i) a local authority,

(ii) a person providing services to a local authority, or

(iii) a person authorised to exercise any function of a local authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(i) a county council in England,

(ii) a person providing services to a county council in England, or

(iii) a person authorised to exercise any function a county council in England has under this section.

(2) Regulations may make provision for or in connection with—

(a) the forwarding by a relevant authority of—

(i) claims received by virtue of any provision authorised by subsection (1) above, and

(ii) information or evidence supplied in connection with making such claims (whether supplied by persons making the claims or by other persons);

(b) the receiving and forwarding by a relevant authority of information or evidence relating to social security or work matters supplied by, or the obtaining by a relevant authority of such information or evidence from—

(i) persons making, or who have made, claims for a relevant benefit, or

(ii) other persons in connection with such claims

including information or evidence not relating to the claims or benefit in question;

(c) the recording by a relevant authority of information or evidence relating to social security or work matters supplied to, or obtained by, the authority and the holding by the authority of such information or evidence (whether as supplied or obtained or as recorded);

(d) the giving of information or advice with respect to social security or work matters by a relevant authority to persons making, or who have made, claims for a relevant benefit;

(e) the verification by a relevant authority of information or evidence supplied to or obtained by the authority in connection with a claim for or an award of a relevant benefit.

(3) In paragraphs (b), (d) and (e) of subsection (2) above—

(a) references to claims for a relevant benefit are to such claims whether made as mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) above or not; and

(b) references to persons who have made such claims include persons to whom awards of benefit have been made on the claims.

(4) Regulations under this section may make different provision for different areas.

(5) Regulations under any other enactment may make such different provision for different areas as appears to the Secretary of State expedient in connection with any exercise by regulations under this section of the power conferred by subsection (4) above.

(6) In this section—

(a) “benefit” includes child support or a war pension (any reference to a claim being read, in relation to child support, as a reference to an application (or an application treated as having been made) under the Child Support Act 1991 for a maintenance calculation);

(b) “local authority” means an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(i) a Minister of the Crown;

(ii) a local authority;

(iii) a county council in England;

(iv) a person providing services to a person mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii);

(v) a person authorised to exercise any function of a local authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(vi) a person authorised to exercise any function a county council in England has under this section;

(d) “relevant benefit” means housing benefit, council tax benefit or any other benefit prescribed for the purposes of this section;

(e) “social security or work matters” means matters relating to—

(i) social security, child support or war pensions, or

(ii) employment or training;

and in this subsection “war pension” means a war pension within the meaning of section 25 of the Social Security Act 1989 (establishment and functions of war pensions committees).

7B

(1) A relevant authority may use for a relevant purpose any social security information which it holds.

(2) Regulations may make provision as to the procedure to be followed by a relevant authority for the purposes of any function it has relating to the administration of a specified benefit if the authority holds social security information which—

(a) is relevant for the purposes of anything which may or must be done by the authority in connection with a claim for or an award of the benefit, and

(b) was used by another relevant authority in connection with a claim for or an award of a different specified benefit or was verified by that other authority in accordance with regulations under section 7A(2)(e) above.

(3) A relevant purpose is anything which is done in relation to a claim which is made or which could be made for a specified benefit if it is done for the purpose of—

(a) identifying persons who may be entitled to such a benefit;

(b) encouraging or assisting a person to make such a claim;

(4) Social security information means—

(a) information relating to social security, child support or war pensions;

(b) evidence obtained in connection with a claim for or an award of a specified benefit.

(5) A specified benefit is a benefit which is specified in regulations for the purposes of this section.

(6) Expressions used in this section and in section 7A have the same meaning in this section as in that section.

(7) This section does not affect any power which exists apart from this section to use for one purpose social security information obtained in connection with another purpose.

Disabled person's tax credit

Health in pregnancy grant

12A

(1) No person is entitled to health in pregnancy grant unless she claims it in the manner, and within the time, prescribed in relation to health in pregnancy grant by regulations under section 5.

(2) No person is entitled to health in pregnancy grant unless subsection (3) or (4) is satisfied in relation to her.

(3) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if her claim for health in pregnancy grant is accompanied by—

(a) a statement of her national insurance number and information or evidence establishing that that number has been allocated to her; or

(b) information or evidence enabling the national insurance number that has been allocated to her to be ascertained.

(4) This subsection is satisfied in relation to a person if she makes an application for a national insurance number to be allocated to her which is accompanied by information or evidence enabling a national insurance number to be allocated to her.

(5) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may by regulations make provision disapplying subsection (2) in the case of prescribed descriptions of persons making a claim.

13A

(1) A person (“P”) who is entitled to child benefit in respect of one or more children may elect for all payments of the benefit to which P is entitled not to be made.

(2) An election may be made only if P reasonably expects that, in the absence of the election, P or another person would be liable to a high income child benefit charge in respect of the payments to which the election relates made for weeks in the first tax year.

(3) An election has effect in relation to payments made for weeks beginning after the election is made.

(4) But where entitlement to child benefit is backdated, an election may have effect in relation to payments for weeks beginning in the period of three months ending immediately before the claim for the benefit was made.

(5) An election may be revoked.

(6) A revocation has effect in relation to payments made for weeks beginning after the revocation is made.

(7) But if—

(a) P makes an election which results in all payments, in respect of child benefit, to which P is entitled for one or more weeks in a tax year not being paid, and

(b) had no election been made, neither P nor any other person would have been liable to a high income child benefit charge in relation to the payments,

P may, no later than two years after the end of the tax year, revoke the election so far as it relates to the payments.

(8) Subsections (2) to (7) are subject to directions under subsection (9).

(9) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may give directions as to—

(a) the form of elections and revocations under this section, the manner in which they are to be made and the time at which they are to be treated as made, and

(b) the circumstances in which, if child benefit is not being paid to a person at the full rate or the Commissioners are satisfied that there are doubts as to a person's entitlement to child benefit for a child, an election or revocation is not to have effect or its effect is to be postponed.

(10) For the purposes of this section—

“child” includes a qualifying young person;

“first tax year”, in relation to an election, means the tax year in which the first week beginning after the election is made falls;

“week” means a period of 7 days beginning with a Monday; and a week is in a tax year if (and only if) the Monday with which it begins is in the tax year.

Payments in respect of mortgage interest etc

15A

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Emergency payments by local authorities and other bodies

Appeals from adjudication officers—general

Reviews—general

Medical examinations

57A

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Eligibility verification

Incapacity for work

61A

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71ZA

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, section 71 above shall apply in relation to social fund payments to which this section applies as it applies in relation to payments made in respect of benefits to which that section applies.

(2) Section 71 above as it so applies shall have effect as if—

(a) in ... subsection (5A), for the words “reversed or varied on an appeal or has been revised under section 9 or superseded under section 10” there were substituted the words “revised on a review under section 38”;

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2A) Subsection (9A) of section 71 above as it so applies shall have effect as if the reference to amounts recoverable under the provisions mentioned in subsection (8) of that section were to amounts recoverable under subsections (1) and (4) of that section by virtue of subsection (1) above.

(3) This section applies to social fund payments such as are mentioned in section 138(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

Recovery of benefit payments

71ZB

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount of the following paid in excess of entitlement—

(a) universal credit,

(b) jobseeker's allowance,

(d) except in prescribed circumstances, housing credit (within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002).

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) An amount paid in pursuance of a determination is not recoverable under this section unless the determination has been—

(a) reversed or varied on an appeal, or

(b) revised or superseded under section 9 or section 10 of the Social Security Act 1998,

except where regulations otherwise provide.

(4) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(5) Where an amount of universal credit is paid for the sole reason that a payment by way of prescribed income is made after the date which is the prescribed date for payment of that income, that amount is for the purposes of this section paid in excess of entitlement.

(6) In the case of a benefit referred to in subsection (1) which is awarded to persons jointly, an amount paid to one of those persons may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(7) An amount recoverable under this section may (without prejudice to any other means of recovery) be recovered—

(a) by deduction from benefit (section 71ZC);

(b) by deduction from earnings (section 71ZD);

(d) by adjustment of benefit (section 71ZF).

71ZC

(1) An amount recoverable from a person under section 71ZB may be recovered by deducting the amount from payments of prescribed benefit.

(2) Where an amount recoverable from a person under section 71ZB was paid to the person on behalf of another, subsection (1) authorises its recovery from the person by deduction—

(a) from prescribed benefits to which the person is entitled,

(b) from prescribed benefits paid to the person to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to that person by the person on whose behalf the recoverable amount was paid, or

(c) from prescribed benefits paid to the person to discharge (in whole or in part) an obligation owed to that person by any other person.

(3) Where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in prescribed circumstances be taken to be discharged by the amount of the deduction.

(4) Where an amount is recovered as mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (2), the obligation specified in that paragraph shall in all cases be taken to be so discharged.

71ZD

(1) Regulations may provide for amounts recoverable under section 71ZB to be recovered by deductions from earnings.

(2) In this section “earnings” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations under subsection (1) may include provision—

(a) requiring the person from whom an amount is recoverable (“the beneficiary”) to disclose details of their employer, and any change of employer, to the Secretary of State;

(b) requiring the employer, on being served with a notice by the Secretary of State, to make deductions from the earnings of the beneficiary and to pay corresponding amounts to the Secretary of State;

(d) as to how payment is to be made to the Secretary of State;

(e) as to a level of earnings below which earnings must not be reduced;

(f) allowing the employer, where the employer makes deductions, to deduct a prescribed sum from the beneficiary's earnings in respect of the employer's administrative costs;

(g) requiring the employer to keep records of deductions;

(h) requiring the employer to notify the Secretary of State if the beneficiary is not, or ceases to be, employed by the employer;

(i) creating a criminal offence for non-compliance with the regulations, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale;

(j) with respect to the priority as between a requirement to deduct from earnings under this section and—

(i) any other such requirement;

(ii) an order under any other enactment relating to England and Wales which requires deduction from the beneficiary's earnings;

(iii) any diligence against earnings.

71ZE

(1) Where an amount is recoverable under section 71ZB from a person residing in England and Wales, the amount is, if the county court so orders, recoverable—

(a) under section 85 of the County Courts Act 1984, or

(b) otherwise as if it were payable under an order of the court.

(2) Where an amount is recoverable under section 71ZB from a person residing in Scotland, the amount recoverable may be enforced as if it were payable under an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.

(3) Any costs of the Secretary of State in recovering an amount of benefit under this section may be recovered by him as if they were amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

(4) In any period after the coming into force of this section and before the coming into force of section 62 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, subsection (1)(a) has effect as if it read “by execution issued from the county court”.

71ZF

Regulations may for the purpose of the recovery of amounts recoverable under section 71ZB make provision—

(a) for treating any amount paid to a person under an award which it is subsequently determined was not payable—

(i) as properly paid, or

(ii) as paid on account of a payment which it is determined should be or should have been made,

and for reducing or withholding arrears payable by virtue of the subsequent determination;

(b) for treating any amount paid to one person in respect of another as properly paid for any period for which it is not payable in cases where in consequence of a subsequent determination—

(i) the other person is entitled to a payment for that period, or

(ii) a third person is entitled in priority to the payee to a payment for that period in respect of the other person,

and by reducing or withholding any arrears payable for that period by virtue of the subsequent determination.

71ZG

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount paid under section 5(1)(r) (payments on account).

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(4) In the case of a payment on account of a benefit which is awarded to persons jointly, an amount paid to one of those persons may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(5) Sections 71ZC, 71ZD and 71ZE apply in relation to amounts recoverable under this section as to amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

71ZH

(1) The Secretary of State may recover any amount paid by way of—

(a) a payment under section 28 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (universal credit hardship payments) which is recoverable under that section,

(b) a payment under section 19C of the Jobseekers Act 1995 (jobseeker's allowance hardship payments) which is recoverable under that section,

(c) a payment of a jobseeker's allowance under paragraph 8 or 8A of Schedule 1 to that Act (exemptions), where the allowance is payable at a prescribed rate under paragraph 9 of that Schedule and is recoverable under that paragraph,

(d) a payment of a jobseeker's allowance under paragraph 10 of that Schedule (claims yet to be determined etc) which is recoverable under that paragraph, or

(e) a payment which is recoverable under section 6B(5A)(d) or (7)(d), 7(2A)(d) or (4)(d), 8(3)(aa), (4)(d) or 9(2A)(d) or (4)(d) of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001.

(2) An amount recoverable under this section is recoverable from—

(a) the person to whom it was paid, or

(b) such other person (in addition to or instead of the person to whom it was paid) as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations may provide that amounts recoverable under this section are to be calculated or estimated in a prescribed manner.

(4) Where universal credit or a jobseeker's allowance is claimed by persons jointly, an amount paid to one claimant may for the purposes of this section be regarded as paid to the other.

(5) Sections 71ZC to 71ZF apply in relation to amounts recoverable under this section as to amounts recoverable under section 71ZB.

Jobseeker's allowance

71A

(1) Where—

(a) a severe hardship direction is revoked; and

(b) it is determined by the Secretary of State that—

(i) whether fraudulently or otherwise, any person has misrepresented, or failed to disclose, any material fact; and

(ii) in consequence of the failure or misrepresentation, payment of a jobseeker's allowance has been made during the relevant period to the person to whom the direction related,

the Secretary of State may determine that he is entitled to recover the amount of the payment.

(2) In this section—

“severe hardship direction” means a direction given under section 16 of the Jobseekers Act 1995; and

“the relevant period” means—if the revocation is under section 16(3)(a) of that Act, the period beginning with the date of the change of circumstances and ending with the date of the revocation; andif the revocation is under section 16(3)(b) or (c) of that Act, the period during which the direction was in force.

(3) Where a severe hardship direction is revoked, the Secretary of State may certify whether there has been misrepresentation of a material fact or failure to disclose a material fact.

(4) If the Secretary of State certifies that there has been such misrepresentation or failure to disclose, he may certify—

(a) who made the misrepresentation or failed to make the disclosure; and

(b) whether or not a payment of jobseeker's allowance has been made in consequence of the misrepresentation or failure.

(5) If the Secretary of State certifies that a payment has been made, he may certify the period during which a jobseeker's allowance would not have been paid but for the misrepresentation or failure to disclose.

(6) A certificate under this section shall be conclusive as to any matter certified.

(7) Subsections (3) and (6) to (10) of section 71 above apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under subsection (1) above as they apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under section 71(1) above.

(8) The other provisions of section 71 above do not apply to a jobseeker's allowance recoverable under subsection (1) above.

74A

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person (“the claimant”) is entitled to a benefit to which this section applies;

(b) the Secretary of State is collecting periodical payments of child or spouse maintenance made in respect of the claimant or a member of the claimant's family; and

(c) the inclusion of any such periodical payment in the claimant's relevant income would, apart from this section, have the effect of reducing the amount of the benefit to which the claimant is entitled.

(2) The Secretary of State may, to such extent as he considers appropriate, treat any such periodical payments as not being relevant income for the purposes of calculating the amount of benefit to which the claimant is entitled.

(3) The Secretary of State may, to the extent that any periodical payment collected by him is treated as not being relevant income for those purposes retain the whole or any part of that payment.

(4) Any sum retained by the Secretary of State under subsection (3) shall be paid by him into the Consolidated Fund.

(5) In this section—

“child” means a person under the age of 16;

“child maintenance”, “spouse maintenance” and “relevant income” have such meaning as may be prescribed;

“couple” has the meaning given by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“family” means—a couple;a couple and a member of the same household for whom one of them is, or both are, responsible and who is a child or a person of a prescribed description;except in prescribed circumstances, a person who is not a member of a couple and a member of the same household for whom that person is responsible and who is a child or a person of a prescribed description;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) For the purposes of this section, the Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to the circumstances in which—

(a) persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household;

(b) one person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another.

(7) The benefits to which this section applies are universal credit, income support, an income-based jobseeker's allowance, an income-related employment and support allowance and such other benefits (if any) as may be prescribed.

Supply of information between authorities administering benefit

109A

(1) An individual who for the time being has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part shall be entitled, for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) below, to exercise any of the powers which are conferred on an authorised officer by sections 109B and 109C below.

(2) Those purposes are—

(a) ascertaining in relation to any case whether a benefit is or was payable in that case in accordance with any provision of the relevant social security legislation;

(b) investigating the circumstances in which any accident, injury or disease which has given rise, or may give rise, to a claim for—

(i) industrial injuries benefit, or

(ii) any benefit under any provision of the relevant social security legislation, occurred or may have occurred, or was or may have been received or contracted;

(c) ascertaining whether provisions of the relevant social security legislation are being, have been or are likely to be contravened (whether by particular persons or more generally);

(d) preventing, detecting and securing evidence of the commission (whether by particular persons or more generally) of benefit offences.

(3) An individual has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part if, and only if, the Secretary of State has granted him an authorisation for those purposes and he is—

(a) an official of a Government department;

(b) an individual employed by an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit;

(c) an individual employed by an authority or joint committee that carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of the authority administering that benefit; or

(d) an individual employed by a person authorised by or on behalf of any such authority or joint committee as is mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c) above to carry out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit for that authority or committee.

(4) An authorisation granted for the purposes of this Part to an individual of any of the descriptions mentioned in subsection (3) above—

(a) must be contained in a certificate provided to that individual as evidence of his entitlement to exercise powers conferred by this Part;

(b) may contain provision as to the period for which the authorisation is to have effect; and

(c) may restrict the powers exercisable by virtue of the authorisation so as to prohibit their exercise except for particular purposes, in particular circumstances or in relation to particular benefits or particular provisions of the relevant social security legislation.

(5) An authorisation granted under this section may be withdrawn at any time by the Secretary of State.

(6) Where the Secretary of State grants an authorisation for the purposes of this Part to an individual employed by a local authority, or to an individual employed by a person who carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of a local authority—

(a) the Secretary of State and the local authority shall enter into such arrangements (if any) as they consider appropriate with respect to the carrying out of functions conferred on that individual by or in connection with the authorisation granted to him; and

(b) the Secretary of State may make to the local authority such payments (if any) as he thinks fit in respect of the carrying out by that individual of any such functions.

(7) The matters on which a person may be authorised to consider and report to the Secretary of State under section 139A below shall be taken to include the carrying out by any such individual as is mentioned in subsection (3)(b) to (d) above of any functions conferred on that individual by virtue of any grant by the Secretary of State of an authorisation for the purposes of this Part.

(8) The powers conferred by sections 109B and 109C below shall be exercisable in relation to persons holding office under the Crown and persons in the service of the Crown, and in relation to premises owned or occupied by the Crown, as they are exercisable in relation to other persons and premises.

(9) This section and sections 109B to 109C below apply as if—

(a) the Tax Credits Act 2002 were relevant social security legislation, and

(b) accordingly, child tax credit and working tax credit were relevant social security benefits for the purposes of the definition of “benefit offence“.

109B

(1) An authorised officer who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person—

(a) is a person falling within subsection (2) or (2A) below, and

(b) has or may have possession of or access to any information about any matter that is relevant for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above,

may, by written notice, require that person to provide all such information described in the notice as is information of which he has possession, or to which he has access, and which it is reasonable for the authorised officer to require for a purpose so mentioned.

(2) The persons who fall within this subsection are—

(a) any person who is or has been an employer or employee within the meaning of any provision made by or under the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(b) any person who is or has been a self-employed earner within the meaning of any such provision;

(c) any person who by virtue of any provision made by or under that Act falls, or has fallen, to be treated for the purposes of any such provision as a person within paragraph (a) or (b) above;

(d) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, any business involving the supply of goods for sale to the ultimate consumers by individuals not carrying on retail businesses from retail premises;

(e) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, any business involving the supply of goods or services by the use of work done or services performed by persons other than employees of his;

(f) any person who is carrying on, or has carried on, an agency or other business for the introduction or supply, to persons requiring them, of persons available to do work or to perform services;

(g) any local authority acting in their capacity as an authority responsible for the granting of any licence;

(h) any person who is or has been a trustee or manager of a personal or occupational pension scheme;

(i) any person who is or has been liable to make a compensation payment or a payment to the Secretary of State under section 6 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (payments in respect of recoverable benefits);

(ia) a person of a prescribed description; and

(j) the servants and agents of any such person as is specified in any of paragraphs (a) to (ia) above.

(2A) The persons who fall within this subsection are—

(a) any bank;

(aa) the Director of National Savings;

(b) any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision of credit (whether secured or unsecured) to members of the public;

(d) any credit reference agency (within the meaning given by section 145(8) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39));

(e) any body the principal activity of which is to facilitate the exchange of information for the purpose of preventing or detecting fraud;

(f) any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision to members of the public of a service for transferring money from place to place;

(g) any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker, Scottish Water or any local authority which is to collect charges by virtue of an order under section 37 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 3);

(h) any person who—

(i) is the holder of a licence under section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 (c. 44) to convey gas through pipes, or

(ii) is the holder of a licence under section 7A(1) of that Act to supply gas through pipes;

(i) any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29)) distributes or supplies electricity;

(j) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(k) any person conducting any educational establishment or institution;

(l) any body the principal activity of which is to provide services in connection with admissions to educational establishments or institutions;

(m) the Student Loans Company;

(n) any servant or agent of any person mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs.

(2B) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the powers conferred by this section on an authorised officer to require information from any person by virtue of his falling within subsection (2A) above shall be exercisable for the purpose only of obtaining information relating to a particular person identified (by name or description) by the officer.

(2C) An authorised officer shall not, in exercise of those powers, require any information from any person by virtue of his falling within subsection (2A) above unless it appears to that officer that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the identified person to whom it relates is—

(a) a person who has committed, is committing or intends to commit a benefit offence; or

(b) a person who (within the meaning of Part 7 of the Contributions and Benefits Act) is a member of the family of a person falling within paragraph (a) above.

(2D) Nothing in subsection (2B) or (2C) above shall prevent an authorised officer who is an official of a Government department and whose authorisation states that his authorisation applies for the purposes of this subsection from exercising the powers conferred by this section for obtaining from—

(a) a water undertaker or Scottish Water,

(b) any person who (within the meaning the Gas Act 1986) supplies gas conveyed through pipes,

(c) any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989) supplies electricity conveyed by distribution systems, or

(d) any servant or agent of a person mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs,

any information which relates exclusively to whether and in what quantities water, gas or electricity are being or have been supplied to residential premises specified or described in the notice by which the information is required.

(2E) The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercisable so as to secure the disclosure by a telecommunications operator or postal operator of communications data without the consent of the operator.

(2F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) The obligation of a person to provide information in accordance with a notice under this section shall be discharged only by the provision of that information, at such reasonable time and in such form as may be specified in the notice, to the authorised officer who—

(a) is identified by or in accordance with the terms of the notice; or

(b) has been identified, since the giving of the notice, by a further written notice given by the authorised officer who imposed the original requirement or another authorised officer.

(4) The power of an authorised officer under this section to require the provision of information shall include a power to require the production and delivery up and (if necessary) creation of, or of copies of or extracts from, any such documents containing the information as may be specified or described in the notice imposing the requirement.

(5) No one shall be required under this section to provide—

(a) any information that tends to incriminate either himself or, in the case of a person who is married or is a civil partner, his spouse or civil partner; or

(b) any information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege or, in Scotland, confidentiality as between client and professional legal adviser, would be successful in any proceedings;

and for the purposes of this subsection it is immaterial whether the information is in documentary form or not.

(6) Provision may be made by order—

(a) adding any person to the list of persons falling within subsection (2A) above;

(b) removing any person from the list of persons falling within that subsection;

(c) modifying that subsection for the purpose of taking account of any change to the name of any person for the time being falling within that subsection.

(7) In this section—

“bank” means—a person who has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) to accept deposits;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ora person who does not require permission under that Act to accept deposits, in the course of his business in the United Kingdom;

“communications data” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see sections 261 and 262 of that Act);

“credit” includes a cash loan or any form of financial accommodation, including the cashing of a cheque;

“insurer” means—a person who has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to effect or carry out contracts of insurance; .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“postal operator” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see section 262 of that Act);

“residential premises”, in relation to a supply of water, gas or electricity, means any premises which—at the time of the supply were premises occupied wholly or partly for residential purposes, orare premises to which that supply was provided as if they were so occupied; and

“telecommunications operator” has the same meaning as in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see section 261 of that Act).

(7A) The definitions of “bank” and “insurer” in subsection (7) must be read with—

(a) section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

(b) any relevant order under that section; and

109BA

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, where it appears to the Secretary of State-

(a) that a person falling within section 109B(2A) keeps any electronic records,

(b) that the records contain or are likely, from time to time, to contain information about any matter that is relevant for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above, and

(c) that facilities exist under which electronic access to those records is being provided, or is capable of being provided, by that person to other persons,

the Secretary of State may require that person to enter into arrangements under which authorised officers are allowed such access to those records.

(2) An authorised officer—

(a) shall be entitled to obtain information in accordance with arrangements entered into under subsection (1) above only if his authorisation states that his authorisation applies for the purposes of that subsection; and

(b) shall not seek to obtain any information in accordance with any such arrangements other than information which relates to a particular person and could be the subject of a requirement under section 109B above.

(3) The matters that may be included in the arrangements that a person is required to enter into under subsection (1) above may include-

(a) requirements as to the electronic access to records that is to be made available to authorised officers;

(b) requirements as to the keeping of records of the use that is made of the arrangements;

(d) such other incidental requirements as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in connection with allowing access to records to authorised officers.

(4) An authorised officer who is allowed access in accordance with any arrangements entered into under subsection (1) above shall be entitled to make copies of, and to take extracts from, any records containing information which he is entitled to require under section 109B.

109C

(1) An authorised officer shall be entitled, at any reasonable time and either alone or accompanied by such other persons as he thinks fit, to enter any premises which—

(a) are liable to inspection under this section; and

(b) are premises to which it is reasonable for him to require entry in order to exercise the powers conferred by this section.

(2) An authorised officer who has entered any premises liable to inspection under this section may—

(a) make such an examination of those premises, and

(b) conduct any such inquiry there,

as appears to him appropriate for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above.

(3) An authorised officer who has entered any premises liable to inspection under this section may—

(a) question any person whom he finds there;

(b) require any person whom he finds there to do any one or more of the following—

(i) to provide him with such information,

(ii) to produce and deliver up and (if necessary) create such documents or such copies of, or extracts from, documents,

as he may reasonably require for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2) above; and

(c) take possession of and either remove or make his own copies of any such documents as appear to him to contain information that is relevant for any of those purposes.

(4) The premises liable to inspection under this section are any premises (including premises consisting in the whole or a part of a dwelling house) which an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting are—

(a) premises which are a person's place of employment;

(b) premises from which a trade or business is being carried on or where documents relating to a trade or business are kept by the person carrying it on or by another person on his behalf;

(c) premises from which a personal or occupational pension scheme is being administered or where documents relating to the administration of such a scheme are kept by the person administering the scheme or by another person on his behalf;

(d) premises where a person who is the compensator in relation to any such accident, injury or disease as is referred to in section 109A(2)(b) above is to be found;

(e) premises where a person on whose behalf any such compensator has made, may have made or may make a compensation payment is to be found.

(5) An authorised officer applying for admission to any premises in accordance with this section shall, if required to do so, produce the certificate containing his authorisation for the purposes of this Part.

(6) Subsections (2E) and (5) of section 109B apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section.

110ZA

(1) Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 (information and inspection powers) applies for the purpose of checking a person's position as regards relevant contributions as it applies for the purpose of checking a person's tax position, subject to the modifications in subsection (2).

(2) That Schedule applies as if—

(a) references to any provision of the Taxes Acts were to any provision of this Act or the Contributions and Benefits Act or the National Insurance Contributions Act 2014 relating to relevant contributions,

(b) references to prejudice to the assessment or collection of tax were to prejudice to the assessment of liability for, and payment of, relevant contributions,

(c) the reference to information relating to the conduct of a pending appeal relating to tax were a reference to information relating to the conduct of a pending appeal relating to relevant contributions, and

(d) paragraphs 21 , 21A, 35(4A)(c), 36, 37(2) and (2A), 37A and 37B of that Schedule (restrictions on giving taxpayer notice where taxpayer has made tax return) were omitted.

(2A) Part 3 of Schedule 38 to the Finance Act 2012 (power to obtain tax adviser’s files etc) applies in relation to relevant contributions as in relation to tax and, accordingly—

(a) the cases described in paragraph 7 of that Schedule (case A and case B) include cases involving conduct or an offence relating to relevant contributions,

(b) (whether the case involves conduct or an offence relating to tax or relevant contributions) the papers and other documents that may be sought under that Part include ones relating to relevant contributions, and

(c) the other Parts of that Schedule apply so far as necessary to give effect to the application of Part 3 by virtue of this subsection.

(3) In this section “relevant contributions” means Class 1, Class 1A, Class 1B or Class 2 contributions.

110A

(1) An individual who for the time being has the authorisation for the purposes of this Part of an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit (“a local authority authorisation”) shall be entitled, for a relevant purpose, to exercise any of the powers which, subject to subsection (8) below, are conferred on an authorised officer by sections 109B and 109C above.

(1A) Each of the following is a relevant purpose—

(a) a purpose mentioned in subsection (2) below;

(b) a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d).

(1B) If the Secretary of State prescribes conditions for the purposes of this section, an authority must not proceed under this section for a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d) unless any such condition is satisfied.

(1C) An authorisation made for a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(a), (c) or (d)—

(a) is subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed;

(b) is not valid in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(2) The purposes in this subsection are—

(a) ascertaining in relation to any case whether housing benefit or council tax benefit is or was payable in that case;

(b) ascertaining whether provisions of the relevant social security legislation that relate to housing benefit or council tax benefit are being, have been or are likely to be contravened (whether by particular persons or more generally);

(c) preventing, detecting and securing evidence of the commission (whether by particular persons or more generally) of benefit offences relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit.

(3) An individual has the authorisation for the purposes of this Part of an authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit if, and only if, that authority have granted him an authorisation for those purposes and he is—

(a) an individual employed by that authority;

(b) an individual employed by another authority or joint committee that carries out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit on behalf of that authority;

(i) the authority in question,

(ii) any such authority or joint committee as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above,

to carry out functions relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit for that authority or committee;

(d) an official of a Government department.

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Social Security Administration Act 1992

2B

2C

2D

2E

2F

2G

Late claims for bereavement benefit where death is difficult to establish

2H

Bereavement benefits

Sharing of functions as regards certain claims and information

7A

7B

Disabled person's tax credit

Health in pregnancy grant

12A

13A

Payments in respect of mortgage interest etc

15A

Emergency payments by local authorities and other bodies

Appeals from adjudication officers—general

Reviews—general

Medical examinations

57A

Eligibility verification

Incapacity for work

61A

71ZA

Recovery of benefit payments

71ZB

71ZC

71ZD

71ZE

71ZF

71ZG

71ZH

Jobseeker's allowance

71A

74A

Supply of information between authorities administering benefit

109A

109B

109BA

109C

110ZA

110A