Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber

[2025] UKUT 299 (AAC)

Fecha: 17-Abr-2025

Annex A: relevant applicable legislation

Annex A: relevant applicable legislation

Universal Credit

Relevant provisions in the Welfare Reform Act 2012(“the WR Act 2012”) are:

1 Universal credit

(1)

A benefit known as universal credit is payable in accordance with this Part.

(2)

Universal credit may, subject as follows, be awarded to—

(a)

an individual who is not a member of a couple (a “single person”), or

(b)

members of a couple jointly.

(3)

An award of universal credit is, subject as follows, calculated by reference to—

(a)

a standard allowance,

(b)

an amount for responsibility for children or young persons,

(c)

an amount for housing, and

(d)

amounts for other particular needs or circumstances.

3 Entitlement

(1)

A single claimant is entitled to universal credit if the claimant meets—

(a)

the basic conditions, and

(b)

the financial conditions for a single claimant.

4 Basic conditions

(1)

For the purposes of section 3, a person meets the basic conditions who—

(a)

is at least 18 years old,

(b)

has not reached the qualifying age for state pension credit,

(c)

is in Great Britain,

(d)

is not receiving education, and

(e)

has accepted a claimant commitment.

(2)

Regulations may provide for exceptions to the requirement to meet any of the basic conditions (and, for joint claimants, may provide for an exception for one or both).

(3)

For the basic condition in subsection (1)(a) regulations may specify a different minimum age for prescribed cases.

(4)

For the basic condition in subsection (1)(b), the qualifying age for state pension credit is that referred to in section 1(6) of the State Pension Credit Act 2002.

(5)

For the basic condition in subsection (1)(c) regulations may—

(a)

specify circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being in Great Britain;

(b)

specify circumstances in which temporary absence from Great Britain is disregarded;

(c)

modify the application of this Part in relation to a person not in Great Britain who is by virtue of paragraph (b) entitled to universal credit.

7 Basis of awards

(1)

Universal credit is payable in respect of each complete assessment period within a period of entitlement.

(2)

In this Part an “assessment period” is a period of a prescribed duration.

(3)

Regulations may make provision—

(a)

about when an assessment period is to start;

(b)

for universal credit to be payable in respect of a period shorter than an assessment period;

(c)

about the amount payable in respect of a period shorter than an assessment period.

(4)

In subsection (1) “period of entitlement” means a period during which entitlement to universal credit subsists.

Relevant provisions in the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (“the UC regulations 2013”) are:

Temporary absence from Great Britain

11.—(1) A person's temporary absence from Great Britain is disregarded in determining whether they meet the basic condition to be in Great Britain if—

(a)

the person is entitled to universal credit immediately before the beginning of the period of temporary absence; and

(b)

either—

(i)

the absence is not expected to exceed, and does not exceed, one month, or

(ii)

paragraph (3) or (4) applies, or

(ii)

paragraph (4A) applies.

(2)

The period of one month in paragraph (1)(b) may be extended by up to a further month if the temporary absence is in connection with the death of—

(a)

the person's partner or a child or qualifying young person for whom the person was responsible; or

(b)

a close relative of the person, or of their partner or of a child or qualifying young person for whom the person or their partner was responsible,

and the Secretary of State considers that it would be unreasonable to expect the person to return to Great Britain within the first month.

(3)

This paragraph applies where the absence is not expected to exceed, and does not exceed, 6 months and is solely in connection with—

(a)

the person undergoing—

(i)

treatment for an illness or physical or mental impairment by, or under the supervision of, a qualified practitioner, or

(ii)

medically approved convalescence or care as a result of treatment for an illness or physical or mental impairment, where the person had that illness or impairment before leaving Great Britain; or

(b)

the person accompanying their partner or a child or qualifying young person for whom they are responsible for treatment or convalescence or care as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a).

(4)

This paragraph applies where the absence is not expected to exceed, and does not exceed, 6 months and the person is—

(a)

a mariner; or

(b)

a continental shelf worker who is in a designated area or a prescribed area.

(4A) [left out as not relevant to these appeals]

(4B) Where a person is temporarily absent from Great Britain, the total period of absence disregarded in determining whether they meet the basic condition to be in Great Britain will not exceed 6 months.

(5)

In this regulation—

…

“medically approved” means certified by a registered medical practitioner;

…

“qualified practitioner” means a person qualified to provide medical treatment, physiotherapy or a form of treatment which is similar to, or related to, either of those forms of treatment.

Housing Benefit

Relevant provisions in the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 are:

123 Income-related benefits.

(1)

Prescribed schemes shall provide for the following benefits (in this Act referred to as “income-related benefits”)—

(a)

income support;

(b)

and (c) [repealed]

(d)

housing benefit; and

(d)

council tax benefit.

130 Housing benefit.

(1)

A person is entitled to housing benefit if—

(a)

he is liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling in Great Britain which he occupies as his home;

(b)

there is an appropriate maximum housing benefit in his case; and

(c)

either—

(i)

he has no income or his income does not exceed the applicable amount; or

(ii)

his income exceeds that amount, but only by so much that there is an amount remaining if the deduction for which subsection (3)(b) below provides is made.

137 Interpretation of Part VII and supplementary provisions.

…

(2)

Regulations may make provision for the purposes of this Part of this Act—

(a)

as to circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being in Great Britain;

(b)

continuing a person’s entitlement to benefit during periods of temporary absence from Great Britain;

[(c) to (m) left out as not relevant.]

Relevant provisions in the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (“the HB Regulations 2006”) include:

Circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home

7(13D) Subject to paragraphs (13E), (13G), (17C), (17D) and (17E) a person to whom paragraph (13C) applies shall be treated as occupying the main dwelling as his home whilst he is absent from Great Britain, for a period not exceeding 4 weeks beginning with the first day of that absence from Great Britain, provided that—

(a)

the person intends to return to occupy the main dwelling as his home;

(b)

the part of the main dwelling normally occupied by the person has not been let or, as the case may be, sub-let; and

(c)

the period of absence outside Great Britain is unlikely to exceed 4 weeks.

Date on which change of circumstances is to take effect

79.—(1) Except in cases where regulation 34 (disregard of changes in tax, contributions, etc) applies, and subject to regulation 8(3) of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations and the following provisions of this regulation, and to regulation 80(5)), a change of circumstances which affects entitlement to, or the amount of, housing benefit (“change of circumstances”) shall take effect from the first day of the benefit week following the date on which the change of circumstances actually occurs, and where that change is cessation of entitlement to any benefit under the benefit Acts, the date on which the change actually occurs shall be the day immediately following the last day of entitlement to that benefit.

Benefit claims, entitlement and adjudication

Relevant provisions in the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (“the Administration Act 1992”) include:

1 Entitlement to benefit dependent on claim

(1)

Except in such cases as may be prescribed, and subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 3 below, no person shall be entitled to any benefit unless, in addition to any other conditions relating to that benefit being satisfied—

(a)

he makes a claim for it in the manner, and within the time, prescribed in relation to that benefit by regulations under this Part of this Act; or

(b)

he is treated by virtue of such regulations as making a claim for it.

…

(3)

In this section and section 2 below “benefit” means—

(za) universal credit;

…