Section 5 Legacy employment and support allowance paymentsI1

United Kingdom

(1)

Section 1 applies in relation to the amounts of the ESA IR personal allowance for tax years 2026-27 to 2029-30 as it applies in relation to the amounts of the standard allowance for those tax years, but as if the reference to the power in section 9 (2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 were to the power in section 4 (2)(a) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007.

(2)

Subsections (1) and (2) of section 150 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (annual up-rating of benefits) do not apply, in the tax years ending with 5 April 2026, 5 April 2027, 5 April 2028 and 5 April 2029, to the following sums—

(a)

any amount of an ESA IR disability premium;

(b)

the ESA IR support component;

(c)

the ESA IR work-related activity component.

(3)

Where it is necessary in order to achieve the result in subsection (4) for any of the tax years 2026-27 to 2029-30, the Secretary of State must exercise the power in section 4 (2)(a) or (6)(c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 to increase—

(a)

any amount of an ESA IR disability premium for that tax year,

(b)

the ESA IR support component for that tax year, or

(c)

any amount of the ESA IR personal allowance for that tax year.

(4)

The result to be achieved for a tax year (“the current tax year”) is that for each combination of amounts referred to in subsection (3)(a) to (c) to which a person could be entitled, the sum of those amounts for the current tax year is at least (in each case) the amount given by increasing—

(a)

the sum of those amounts for the previous tax year, by

(b)

the relevant CPI percentage for the current tax year.

(5)

In this section—

(a)

an “amount of the ESA IR personal allowance” means an amount—

(i)

that is prescribed under section 4 (2)(a) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (amount of income-related allowance), and

(ii)

that is not an amount of a premium specified in Part 3 of Schedule 4 to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 or an amount in respect of housing costs;

(b)

an “amount of an ESA IR disability premium” means an amount of the severe disability premium or enhanced disability premium specified in Part 3 of Schedule 4 to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008, so far as prescribed under section 4 (2)(a) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

(c)

“the ESA IR support component” means the amount specified in paragraph 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008, so far as specified under section 4 (6)(c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

(d)

“the ESA IR work-related activity component” means the amount specified in paragraph 12 of Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008, so far as specified under section 4 (6)(c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 for the purposes of cases falling within paragraphs 2 to 7 of Schedule 2 to the Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2017;

(e)

a reference to an amount or component “for” a tax year means the amount applicable for any benefit week commencing on or after the first Monday of that tax year and before the first Monday of the following tax year, and for this purpose “benefit week” has the same meaning as in the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008.

Annotations

Commencement

I1: S. 5 in force at Royal Assent