# The Social Security (Quarterly Work-focused Interviews for Certain Lone Parents) Regulations 2004, Regulation 7: Failure to take part in an interview


(1) Where a relevant decision has been made in accordance with regulation 6(3), subject to paragraphs (2) and (7), the specified benefit payable to the relevant person shall be reduced as from the first day of the next benefit week following the day a relevant decision was made, by a sum equal to 20 per cent. of the amount applicable on the date the first reduction commences in respect of a single claimant for income support aged not less than 25.
(2) The specified benefit reduced in accordance with paragraph (1) shall not be reduced below ten pence per week.
(3) Where the rate of the specified benefit payable to a relevant person changes, the reduction described in paragraph (1) shall be applied to the new rates and any adjustments to the specified benefit against which the reduction is made shall take effect from the beginning of the first benefit week to commence for that relevant person following the change.
(4) Paragraph (1) shall apply to a relevant person each time a relevant decision is made in accordance with regulation 6(3) in respect of the relevant person.
(5) Where a relevant person whose specified benefit has been reduced in accordance with paragraph (1) subsequently takes part in an interview, the whole of the reduction shall cease to have effect on the first day of the benefit week in which the requirement to take part in an interview was met.
(6) Where paragraph (4) applies, for the purposes of determining the amount of the specified benefit payable a relevant person shall be treated as receiving the amount of the specified benefit which would have been payable but for a reduction made in accordance with paragraph (1).
(7) The specified benefit shall not be reduced in accordance with paragraph (1) where the relevant person brings new facts to the notice of the Secretary of State within one month of the date on which a relevant decision was notified to him and—
(a) those facts could not reasonably have been brought to the Secretary of State’s notice within five working days of the day on which the interview was to take place; and
(b) those facts show that the relevant person had good cause for his failure to take part in the interview.
(8) Where a reduction of specified benefit has been made in accordance with paragraph (1) the whole of that reduction shall cease to have effect on the date when the relevant person—
(a) is no longer required to take part in an interview as a condition for continuing to be entitled to the full amount of the specified benefit which is payable to the relevant person apart from these Regulations; or
(b) attains the age of 60.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/2244/regulation/7 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-quarterly-work-focused-interviews-for-certain-lone-parents-regulations-2004/regulation-7
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.