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The Social Security Advisory Committee recommends that no change be made to regulation 27, and then withdraws its proposal to remove the safety net.

What: The Social Security Advisory Committee recommends that no change be made to regulation 27 and that the “significant risk” clause would remain “for the present but that the Government should monitor the situation”. The committee says it has “seen no evidence of any inappropriate broadening of the criteria leading to benefits being paid in ‘undeserving’ cases”. It says the clause is crucial in ensuring that the income of a number of vulnerable and disadvantaged customers is not disrupted and their lives destabilised. The Committee says the clause provides a necessary safety net for people who do not get a correct Personal Capability Assessment. The Government withdraws its proposal to remove the safety net.

Why significant: The Government again tries to remove the “significant risk” clause from Regulation 27 – a clause which the Social Security Advisory Committee sees as providing an important ‘safety net’ to protect ‘disadvantaged customers’. Yet ‘the door is left open for future amendments to regulation 27’.

Citations

'The Draft Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (General) Amendment Regulations', 2003
'Howker v. Secretary of State for Social Security', Disability Rights UK