# The Income Support (General) Regulations 1987, Paragraph 13: Severe Disability Premium

Extent: E+W+S

(1) The condition is that the claimant is a severely disabled person.
(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), a claimant shall be treated as being a severely disabled person if, and only if—
(a) in the case of a single claimant , a lone parent or a claimant who is treated as having no partner in consequence of sub-paragraph (2A)—
(i) he is in receipt of attendance allowance , ... the care component of disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate prescribed in accordance with section 37ZB(3) of the Social Security Act , the care component of Scottish adult disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate in accordance with regulation 6(4) of the Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025 or the daily living component of personal independence payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with section 78(3) of the 2012 Act , the daily living component of adult disability payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with regulation 5 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 or armed forces independence payment, and
(ii) subject to sub-paragraph (3), he has no non-dependants aged 18 or over normally residing with him or with whom he is normally residing, and
(iii) no person is entitled to, and in receipt of, a carer’s allowance under section 70 of the Contributions and Benefits Act or carer support payment or has an award of universal credit which includes the carer element in respect of caring for him;
(b) in the case of a claimant who has a partner—
(i) he is in receipt of attendance allowance , pension age disability payment , ... the care component of disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate prescribed in accordance with section 37ZB(3) of the Social Security Act , the care component of Scottish adult disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate in accordance with regulation 6(4) of the Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025 or the daily living component of personal independence payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with section 78(3) of the 2012 Act , the daily living component of adult disability payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with regulation 5 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 or armed forces independence payment; and
(ii) his partner is also in receipt of such an allowance or, if he is a member of a polygamous marriage, all the partners of that marriage are in receipt thereof; and
(iii) subject to sub-paragraph (3), he has no non-dependants aged 18 or over normally residing with him or with whom he is normally residing,
and, either a person is entitled to, and in receipt of, a carer’s allowance or carer support payment or has an award of universal credit which includes the carer element in respect of caring for only one of the couple or, in the case of a polygamous marriage, for one or more but not all the partners of the marriage or, as the case may be, no person is entitled to, and in receipt of, such an allowance or payment or has such an award of universal credit in respect of caring for either member of the couple or any partner of the polygamous marriage.
(2A) Where a claimant has a partner who does not satisfy the condition in sub-paragraph (2)(b)(ii), and that partner is severely sight impaired or blind or treated as severely sight impaired or blind within the meaning of paragraph 12(1)(a)(iii) and (2), that partner shall be treated for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) as if he were not a partner of the claimant.
(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(a)(ii) and (2)(b)(iii) no account shall be taken of—
(a) a person receiving attendance allowance , pension age disability payment , ... the care component of disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate prescribed in accordance with section 37ZB(3) of the Social Security Act , the care component of Scottish adult disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate in accordance with regulation 6(4) of the Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025 or the daily living component of personal independence payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with section 78(3) of the 2012 Act , the daily living component of adult disability payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with regulation 5 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 or armed forces independence payment; or
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) subject to sub-paragraph (4), a person who joins the claimant's household for the first time in order to care for the claimant or his partner and immediately before so joining the claimant or his partner was treated as a severely disabled person; or
(d) a person who is severely sight impaired or blind or treated as severely sight impaired or blind within the meaning of paragraph 12(1)(a)(iii) and (2).
(3A) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(b) a person shall be treated...—
(a) as being in receipt of attendance allowance, or the care component of disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate prescribed in accordance with section 37ZB(3) of the Social Security Act if he would, but for his being a patient for a period exceeding 28 days, be so in receipt;
(b) as being entitled to and in receipt of a carer’s allowance or carer support payment or having an award of universal credit which includes the carer element if he would, but for the person for whom he was caring being a patient in hospital for a period exceeding 28 days, be so entitled and in receipt of carer’s allowance or carer support payment or have such an award of universal credit;
(c) as being in receipt of the daily living component of personal independence payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with section 78(3) of the 2012 Act if he would, but for a suspension of benefit in accordance with regulations under section 86(1) (hospital in-patients) of the 2012 Act, be so in receipt;
(d) as being in receipt of the daily living component of adult disability payment at the standard or enhanced rate in accordance with regulation 5 of the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022, if they would, but for regulation 28 (effect of admission to hospital on ongoing entitlement to Adult Disability Payment) of those Regulations, be so in receipt;
(e) as being in receipt of pension age disability payment if they would, but for regulation 20 (effect of admission to hospital on ongoing entitlement to pension age disability payment) of the Disability Assistance for Older People (Scotland) Regulations 2024, be so in receipt;
(f) as being in receipt of the care component of Scottish adult disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate in accordance with regulation 6(4) of the Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025, if they would, but for regulation 23 (effect of admission to hospital on ongoing entitlement to Scottish adult disability living allowance) of those Regulations, be so in receipt.
(3ZA) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(a)(iii) and (2)(b), no account shall be taken of an award of carer’s allowance , carer support payment or universal credit which includes the carer element to the extent that payment of such an award is back-dated for a period before the date on which the award is first paid.
(4) Sub-paragraph (3)(c) shall apply only for the first 12 weeks following the date on which the person to whom that provision applies first joins the claimant's household.
(5) In sub-paragraph (2)(a)(iii) and (b), references to a person being in receipt of a carer’s allowance or as having an award of universal credit which includes the carer element shall include references to a person who would have been in receipt of that allowance or had such an award but for the application of a restriction under section 6B or 7 of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 (loss of benefit provisions).
(6) For the purposes of this paragraph, a person has an award of universal credit which includes the carer element if the person has an award of universal credit which includes an amount which is the carer element under regulation 29 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/1967/schedule/2/paragraph/13 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/income-support-general-regulations-1987/schedule-2/paragraph-13
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.