{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/welfare-reform-act-2012-commencement-no-9-11-13-14-16-and-17-and-transitional-and-transitory-provisions-amendment-order-2014/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/welfare-reform-act-2012-commencement-no-9-11-13-14-16-and-17-and-transitional-and-transitory-provisions-amendment-order-2014/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2014/1661",
  "legislation_title": "The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 9, 11, 13 14, 16 and 17 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2014",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/welfare-reform-act-2012-commencement-no-9-11-13-14-16-and-17-and-transitional-and-transitory-provisions-amendment-order-2014",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Order)\nThis Order amends the Orders set out below, which make provision for the coming into force of the universal credit (“UC”) provisions in Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c.5) (“UC provisions”) and the provisions in that Part that abolish income-related employment and support allowance and income-based jobseeker’s allowance (“amending provisions”). The main amendments will apply where claims for UC or for an employment and support allowance (“ESA”) or a jobseeker’s allowance (“JSA”) are made on or after 30th June 2014, in relation to areas where claims for UC may currently be made.\nWhere entitlement to ESA or JSA arises under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c.5) or the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18) as amended by the amending provisions, the contributory-only benefit is referred to as “new style ESA” or “new style JSA”. Where entitlement to ESA or JSA arises under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c.5) or the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c. 18) as they have effect apart from the amending provisions, the benefit is referred to as “old style ESA” or an “old style JSA”.\nThe Orders affected (“the relevant Orders”) and the areas covered by each Order (specified in the Schedule to each Order) are—\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/983 (C. 41) (“the No. 9 Order”: covers the “relevant districts”);\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 11 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/1511 (C. 60) (“the No. 11 Order”: covers the “No. 2 and No. 3 relevant districts”);\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 13 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2657 (C. 107) (“the No. 13 Order”: covers the “No. 4 relevant districts”);\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 14 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2846 (C. 114) (“the No. 14 Order”: covers the “No. 5 relevant districts”);\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 16 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/209) (C. 7) (“the No. 16 Order”: covers the “No. 6 and No.7 relevant districts”);\nThe Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/209) (C. 7) (“the No. 16 Order”: covers the “No. 8 relevant districts”, “No. 9 relevant districts”, “No. 10 relevant districts”, “No. 11 relevant districts”, “No. 12 relevant districts” and “No. 13 relevant districts”);\nArticle 3 provides that that article applies where a claim for UC, ESA or JSA is made on or after 30th June 2014 and the claimant resides (or purports to reside) in one of the above districts.\nArticle 4 of this Order amends Schedule 5 to the No. 9 Order (gateway conditions) where article 3 of this Order applies. The main changes are—\na) the condition that a person must not be entitled to certain benefits in order for the UC provisions to come into force is altered so that the list of benefits excludes housing benefit and a tax credit. This means that a person may claim UC where they are entitled to housing benefit or a tax credit, subject to meeting the other gateway conditions in Schedule 5;\nb) the condition that an old style ESA award or old style JSA award must not have terminated during the period of 2 weeks ending with the date on which the claim for UC is made, is removed;\nc) the condition as to the maximum income and capital that a claimant may have in order for the UC provisions to come into force is altered so that the claimant must declare that his or her earned income is not expected to exceed £330 during the period of one month starting with the date on which the claim for UC is made (it was previously £270 for a person aged under 25);\nd) there is a new condition that a claimant must not be carrying on a trade, profession or vocation in respect of which he or she receives self-employed earnings; and\ne) there is a new condition that the claimant must not be a company director or a member of a limited liability partnership.\nThe article also provides that, in relation to the cases covered by article 3, any reference in the other relevant Orders to Schedule 5 to the No. 9 Order is to be construed as a reference to that Schedule as amended by article 4.\nArticles 6, 7 and 8 amend the No. 13 Order, the No. 14 Order and the No. 16 Order respectively so that, for claims made with respect to certain areas where article 3 applies, the gateway conditions are treated as though the condition that a claimant must be a single person is removed.\nThis means that, in those cases, claims for UC may be made by a couple as joint claimants, where both members of the couple reside in one of the relevant areas and meet the other gateway conditions. It also means that any claim for ESA or JSA by a member of a couple, where that member resides in one of the relevant areas and meet the other gateway conditions, will be a claim for new style ESA or new style JSA.\nIn particular, in article 6—\na) paragraph (3) amends the No. 13 Order (which relates to claims for UC, ESA and JSA where a claimant resides in a No. 4 relevant district) so that the gateway conditions in Schedule 5 to the No. 9 Order have effect as if the condition that a claimant must be single is removed (with an exception for postcode part-districts WN1 3 and M35 5); and\nb) paragraphs (4) and (5) make other amendments consequent on (a) in order to facilitate claims by members of a couple.\nArticle 7 makes similar provision to article 6 with respect to the No. 14 Order (which relates to claims for UC, ESA and JSA where a claimant resides in a No. 5 relevant district).\nArticle 8 makes similar provision to article 6 with respect to the No. 16 Order (which relates to claims for UC, ESA and JSA where a claimant resides in a No. 6 or a No. 7 relevant district) save that the condition that a claimant must be single is only removed in relation to claims for UC, ESA or JSA where a claimant resides (or purports to reside) in a No. 6 relevant district.\nArticle 9 makes a technical change to the No. 17 Order.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1661/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T00:11:53.881681+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."
}