Loss of Benefit Provisions
One Strike
From 1 April 2010, Section 24 of the Welfare Reform Act 2009 and
the Social Security (Loss of Benefit) Regulations 2010 introduced a
new four week loss or reduction of benefit sanction. This is
known as 'One Strike'.
One Strike sanctions apply to benefit fraud offences committed
on or after 1 April 2010 that result in a Caution, Administrative
Penalty or first conviction.
One Strike will restrict payment of benefit for four weeks when
a claimant, their partner or a family member has been convicted, or
has accepted a caution or an administrative penalty for a first
benefit fraud offence, when the whole period of the fraud was
committed on or after 1 April 2010. 'Family' means the
customer, any partner and any dependent child, who is a member of
the same household, and for whom the offender or partner (or both)
is responsible.
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit will not be sanctioned
where the customer is in receipt of Income Support, Income
Based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Related Employment and Support
Allowance or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit). Local Housing
Allowance is treated in the same way as Housing Benefit.
Determining that a loss of benefit sanction applies,
and calculating the period of the sanction, is the responsibility
of the Department for Work and Pensions, however the role of
applying the loss of benefit sanction to Housing Benefit and
Council Tax Benefit is the responsibility of the Local
Authority.
The reduction in benefit is equivalent to:
- 40% of the relevant Income Support single person's
allowance
- 20% of the relevant Income Support single person's allowance
if the customer or other member of their family is seriously
ill or pregnant.
The following table shows the effect of Loss of Benefit
Provision on Housing and Council Tax Benefit.
Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit - April 2010
rates
|
Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit |
Aged
18-24 |
Aged 25 and Over |
Main
Phase ESA* |
| Single Person's Allowance |
£51.85 |
£65.45 |
£65.45 |
| 40% reduction |
£20.75 |
£26.20 |
£26.20 |
| 20% reduction |
£10.35 |
£13.10 |
£13.10 |
* ESA - Employment Support Allowance
Two Strikes
Two Strikes (introduced in 2002) is designed to be a
deterrent against continued abuse of the benefit system by
applying a benefit sanction to those convicted, more than once, of
benefit offences, within a linking five year period. This
loss or reduction of benefit applies for a period of 13
weeks. The reductions are the same as shown above, for One
Strike. Local Housing Allowance is treated in the same way as
Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit.
