Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”) and the Social Security (Mariners' Benefits) Regulations 1975.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 14 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as available for employment) of the 1996 Regulations. It provides for a person to be treated as available for employment in a part-week at the beginning of a claim if the circumstances set out in regulation 14(2A) apply. A new regulation 14(2A), setting out those circumstances, is inserted into the 1996 Regulations by regulation 2(4) of these Regulations.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 15 (circumstances in which a person is not to be regarded as available for employment) of the 1996 Regulations by providing that a person is not to be regarded as available for employment for a part-week at the beginning of a claim unless he is treated as available for that part-week in accordance with regulation 14 of the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 4 adds a new regulation 18A to the 1996 Regulations to make provision for determining whether a person is actively seeking employment in a part-week at the beginning of a claim for a jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 19 (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as actively seeking employment) of the 1996 Regulations. It omits one of the circumstances where a person is treated as actively seeking employment under the 1996 Regulations, namely in a part-week at the beginning of a claim.

Regulation 6 revokes a provision in the Social Security (Mariners' Benefits) Regulations 1975 as this provision relates to the payment of Establishment Benefit under the Merchant Navy Established Service Scheme which is no longer paid.