{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-lone-parents-and-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2012/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-lone-parents-and-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2012/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2012/874",
  "legislation_title": "The Social Security (Lone Parents and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2012",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-lone-parents-and-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2012",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Jobseekers Allowance Regulations 1996 (“the JSA Regulations”), the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000 (“the Lone Parents Regulations”), the Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 (“the Jobcentre Plus Regulations”) and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (“the ESA Regulations”).\nRegulation 2 replaces paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations with the result that a lone parent is entitled to income support solely on grounds of being a lone parent, only if they are under 18 or if their youngest child is under the age of 5.\nRegulation 3 amends the JSA Regulations so as to treat a lone parent who is responsible for, and a member of the same household as, a child aged 5 who is not receiving and is not required to receive full-time education as being available for, and actively seeking employment, where it would be unreasonable for the lone parent to make other arrangements for the child’s care.\nRegulation 4 amends the Lone Parents Regulations so that lone parents are required to take part in work-focused interviews every 13 weeks under regulation 2ZA of those Regulations only if their youngest child is aged 4.\nRegulation 5 amends the Jobcentre Plus Regulations, so that lone parents are required to take part in work-focused interviews every 13 weeks under regulation 4A of those Regulations, only if their youngest child is aged 4.\nRegulation 6 amends the ESA Regulations to extend the circumstances in which entitlement to the support or work-related activity components of Employment and Support Allowance can arise even though the assessment phase has not ended to include cases where a lone parent’s entitlement to income support ends as result of these Regulations.\nRegulation 7 makes transitional provision for lone parents, who are existing income support claimants and who are also full-time students or following certain full time courses, so that paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations, as in force immediately before these Regulations come into force, continues to apply to them until their youngest child reaches the age when they would otherwise have ceased to be entitled to income support, or until they cease to take part in a course that is covered by the provision or makes a new claim for income support. During that time the lone parent will continue to be required to take part in work-focused interviews every 13 weeks.\nThe Schedule makes provision for the changes to paragraph 1 of Schedule 1B to the Income Support Regulations, to regulation 2ZA of the Lone Parents Regulations and to regulation 4A of the Jobcentre Plus Regulations to take effect at a later date in the case of certain existing claimants linked to the age of the claimant’s youngest child and the date on which the child’s birthday falls. It also provides for the change to income support entitlement to take effect later for some lone parents, and in certain circumstances, for the changes made to the Lone Parents Regulations and the Jobcentre Plus Regulations to also be postponed.\nThese Regulations have no impact on the private sector and civil society organisations. However, an assessment of the impact of these Regulations on the public sector has been made and is included in the impact assessment that accompanied the Welfare Reform Bill. A copy of this impact assessment is available in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament, and an updated version of the relevant extract is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk. Copies of the impact assessment may also be obtained form the Better Regulation Unit of the Department for Work and Pensions, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NA, or from the DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/resourcecentre/ria/asp.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/874/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T01:36:12.411839+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}