Digest
Parliamentary Digest
HC committee stage, 26 November 2015
HC second reading, 25 November 2015
HC fi rst reading, 25 November 2015
HC first reading, 24 November 2015
HL second reading, 24 November 2015
Royal assent, 18 November 2015
HL committee stage, 17 November 2015
HC fi rst reading, 11 November 2015
HL fi rst reading, 11 November 2015
HC fi rst reading, 4 November 2015
LEGISLATION
CRIME
Revokes and remakes, in relation to England and Wales, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (References to Financial Investigators) Order 2009 SI No 975 as amended by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (References to Financial Investigators) (Amendment) Order 2009 SI No 2707. In force 30 November 2015.
Amend the Administrative Forfeiture of Cash (Forfeiture Notices) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 SI No 857 to provide for the manner in which a forfeiture notice under Proceeds of Crime Act (PCA) 2002 s297A is to be given to a person who resides outside the UK if the state in which the person resides has made a relevant declaration.
The forfeiture notice is to be given in the same manner that a judicial document is to be given under a relevant declaration unless the state in which the person resides agrees that the forfeiture notice may be sent directly to the person. In that case, the forfeiture notice must be given to the person consistent with reg 4. For the purpose of these regulations, a relevant declaration is:
- a declaration made consistent with article 31(2) of the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confi scation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism that judicial documents may not be sent directly to persons abroad by postal channels; or
- a declaration made consistent with article 21(2) of the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confi scation of the
Amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Appeals under Part 2) Order 2003 SI No 82 to insert in Part 3 of the Order references to an appeal to the Supreme Court under PCA s13B(4). Section 13B was inserted into the PCA by Serious Crime Act 2015 s7, which came into force on 1 June 2015. In force 30 November 2015.
IMMIGRATION
Amends the Immigration (Exemption from Control) Order 1972 SI No 1613 made under Immigration Act (IA) 1971 s8(2). The effect is to exempt eligible dependants of members of the USA visiting forces posted in the UK from any provision of the IA relating to those who are not British citizens (except any provision relating to deportation). This is subject to the dependant meeting the suitability criteria under Appendix Armed Forces of the Immigration Rules and providing evidence that the member is able to maintain and accommodate the dependant without recourse to public funds. In force 28 November 2015.
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Amend the Family Procedure Rules (the FPR) 2010 SI No 2955. Rule 3 amends the definition of ‘authorised family mediator’ in FPR r3.1.
Rule 4 inserts a new rule 5.5 into the FPR allowing for a Practice Direction to make provision for filing documents with and sending documents to the court by e-mail .
Rules 5 and 6 make related amendments to Part 6 of the FPR relating to service by e-mail .
Rule 7 inserts a new rule 9.46 into the FPR which makes provision about communication of information from financial remedy proceedings.
Rule 8 amends FPR r29.12 to facilitate storage of documents in electronic format. Rules 1 and 2 and 4 to 8 come into force on 7 December 2015; rule 3 comes into force on 1 January 2016.
Amend rule 26.2A of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 1998 SI No 3132 to provide that, in the county court, if a defendant is an individual, their claim will only be sent to the defendant’s home court (defined in CPR Part 2) if the claim is for a specified sum of money. In all other cases, the claim will be sent to the preferred hearing centre (also defined in CPR Part 2).
Previously, if a defendant was an individual, their claim would be sent to the defendant’s home court irrespective of whether the claim was for a specified or unspecified sum of money. These provisions remain subject to the exceptions in r26.2A(5) which enable an individual defendant or a claimant, as appropriate, to specify on their directions questionnaire an alternative county court hearing centre to which the claim should be sent, but this provision has been amended to aid clarity. Further amendments replace the term ‘preferred court’ with ‘defendant’s home court’ and ‘preferred hearing centre’ , as appropriate, to ensure the use of correct terminology. In force 3 December 2015.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Amend the Housing Benefit Regulations (HB Regs 2006) 2006 SI No 213 and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (HB(Qualifying age) Regs) 2006 SI No 214.
Regulation 2 amends the HB Regs 2006 and the HB(Qualifying age) Regs by abolishing the family premium contained in Part 2 of Schedule 3 to those Regulations, and making amendments consequential on the abolition of that premium.
Regulation 3 amends HB Regs reg 83(12A) to shorten the period over which a claim for housing benefit can be backdated from six months to one month.
Regulation 4 contains transitional provisions. The provisions provide that the amendments in reg 2 do not apply to a person who, on 30 April 2016, is entitled to housing benefit and is either:
- a member of a family that contains at least one child or young person; or
- a partner in a polygamous marriage where s/he, or another partner of the marriage, is responsible for a child or young person who is a member of the same household.
The provisions will no longer apply to a person if the person makes a new claim for housing benefit or if para 1(a) or (b) ceases to apply to that person. In force for the purposes of reg 1 on 1 April 2016, for all other purposes on 1 May 2016.
Brings into force provisions of the Welfare Reform Act (WRA) 2012 that relate to universal credit (UC) and the abolition of income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) and income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), in relation to the cases set out in articles 3 and 4.
Article 3 brings into force provisions relating to UC in WRA Part 1, as specified in Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No 8 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order (‘ the No 9 Order’ ) 2013 SI No 983, in relation to the different cases set out below.
Under article 3(1) and (2)( a), the UC provisions come into force in relation to a claim for UC, and any award that is made regarding the claim, where the claim is made on or after 2 December 2015, with respect to a period that begins on or after 2 December 2015 and, on the date on which the claim is made, the claimant resides in one of the designated postcodes, as defined in article 2(1), namely, the postcode partdistricts SM5 1, SM5 3, SM5 9, SM6 0 and SM6 6.
Under article 3(1) and (2)( b), the UC provisions come into force in relation to a claim for UC, and any award that is made regarding the claim, where the claimant claims UC on or after 2 December 2015 in respect of a period that begins on or after that date and provides incorrect information regarding the claimant residing in the postcode in question, but this is only discovered once payments of UC have been made.
Under article 3(3), the day appointed for the coming into force of the UC provisions in the above cases is the first day of the period in respect of which the claim is made.
Paragraphs (4) and (5) of article 3 apply the provisions of article 3(6) (period for which a claim for UC is made) and article 3A (incorrect information regarding entitlement to claim UC) of the No 9 Order respectively to the cases in article 3(2) of this Order.
Article 4 brings into force provisions of the WRA relating to the abolition of income-related ESA and income-based JSA (‘ the amending provisions’ ), in relation to the different cases as set out below.
Below, ‘old-style ESA’ means employment and support allowance under WRA Part 1 as that Part has effect apart from the amending provisions, and ‘old-style JSA’ means jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as that Act has effect apart from the amending provisions.
Under article 4(1) and (2)( a), the amending provisions come into force in relation to a claim for UC, and any award that is made regarding the claim, where the claim is made on or after 2 December 2015 with respect to a period that begins on or after 2 December 2015 and, on the date on which the claim is made, the claimant resides in one of the designated postcodes.
Under article 4(1) and (2)( b), the amending provisions come into force in relation to a claim for UC, and any award that is made regarding the claim, where the claimant claims UC on or after 2 December 2015 in respect of a period that begins on or after that date and provides incorrect information regarding the claimant residing in the postcode in question, but this is only discovered once payments of UC have been made.
Under article 4(1) and (2)( c), the amending provisions come into force in relation to a claim for an ESA or a JSA, and any award that is made in respect of the claim, where the claim is made on or after 2 December 2015 and, on the date on which the claim is made, the claimant resides in one of the designated postcodes.
Under article 4(1) and (2)( d), the amending provisions come into force in relation to the case of a claim for ESA or JSA where the claim is not a claim for ESA or JSA as referred to in article 4(2)( c) and where the claim is made during the ‘relevant period’ (mainly the period when a claim for UC is being considered or an award of UC is extant).
Under article 4(3), the day appointed for the coming into force of the amending provisions in the above cases is the first day of the period in respect of which the claim is made. Paragraphs (6) to (8) of article 4 apply the provisions of article 4(6), (7), (9) and (10) (matters included in the reference to the case of a claim for UC) and article 5(1A), (1B) (claim for ESA or JSA by a member of a couple) and (8) (the period for which a claim for ESA, JSA or UC is made) of the No 9 Order to the cases in article 4(2).
Article 5 provides that articles 9–22 of the No 9 Order apply in connection with the coming into force of the amending provisions in relation to the case of a claim referred to in article 4(2), and any award made in respect of the claim, as they apply in connection with the coming into force of the amending provisions in relation to the case of a claim referred to in article 4(2)( a), (b) or (g) of the No 9 Order, and any award made in respect of the claim.
Article 6 ensures that the provisions of articles 3(2)( bb) and 4(2)( ccc) and (ddd) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order (‘ the No 24 Order’ ) 2015 SI No 1537 for the coming into force of the UC provisions and the amending provisions do not apply where articles 3(2)( a) and 4(2)( a) and (c) of this Order apply. Those provisions of the No 24 Order were due to take effect on 25 April 2016 for a claimant residing in one of the designated postcodes, as being part of ‘the No 80 relevant districts’ set out in ‘the Index of Relevant Districts’ published on 20 July 2015 (each as defined in the No 24 Order), subject to the restrictions on claiming UC set out in that Order (‘ the gateway conditions’ ). However, they are now superseded by the equivalent provisions of this Order, which take effect from 2 December 2015 and with no gateway conditions attached.
Article 7 contains transitional provisions which provide that, save in specified cases, a person may not make a claim for housing benefit, income support or a tax credit on any date where, if that person made a claim for UC on that date, the UC provisions would come into force in relation to the claim as a result of article 3(1) and (2)( a) of this Order.
Articles 8 and 9 revoke modifications made by the No 23 Order and the No 24 Order to the savings provisions in Universal Credit (Digital Service) Amendment Regulations 2014 SI No 2887 reg 5 and in of the Universal Credit (Surpluses and Self-employed Losses) (Digital Service) Amendment Regulations 2015 SI No 345 reg 4 (together ‘the Amendment Regs’ ) because those modifications have been superseded by substitutions for those regulations made by the Universal Credit and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2015 SI No 1754. The designated postcodes fall to be treated as ‘digital service areas’ , as defined in the substituted savings provisions, so the Amendment Regs apply to awards of UC made under this Order without more.