Ministry of Social Security Act 1966
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1966 c. 20 |
Ministry of Social SecurityAct 1966
1966 CHAPTER 20
An Act to provide for the appointment of a Minister of Social Security and the transfer to him of the functions of the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance and of certain functions of the National Assistance Board; to replace Part II of the National Assistance Act 1948 by provisions giving rights to non-contributory benefit; and for purposes connected with those matters.
[3rd August 1966]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
CommissionThe Minister of Social Security and the
1 The Minister of Social Security.
(1) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty to appoint a Minister of Social Security having the functions provided for by the following provisions of this Act.
(2) Schedule 1 to the Ministers of the Crown Act 1964 (provisions as to new Ministers and their Departments) shall apply (except as provided in subsection (4) of this section) to the Minister of Social Security, and references in that Schedule to the Minister and the Ministry shall be construed accordingly.
(3) The offices of Minister of Social Security and of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Social Security shall be included—
(a ) among the Ministerial offices referred to in section 2 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 (maximum number of Ministers in the House of Commons); and
(b ) among the offices in respect of which salaries are payable, at the annual rates of 8,500 and 3,750 respectively, under section 1 of the Ministerial Salaries Consolidation Act 1965 .
(4) So much of Schedule 1 to the Ministers of the Crown Act 1964 as provides for the defraying of expenses out of moneys provided by Parliament shall not apply to such expenses incurred by the Minister of Social Security in the exercise of functions transferred to him by this Act as are by virtue of any enactment to be defrayed in some other manner.
2 Dissolution of Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance and of National Assistance Board and transfer of functions to Minister.
(1) The Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance is hereby dissolved and the National Assistance Board shall cease to exist on such date as the Minister of Social Security may by order appoint; and there are hereby transferred to the Minister of Social Security—
(a ) as from the commencement of this Act, the functions of the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance;
(b ) as from the date appointed under this section, the functions of the National Assistance Board, except in so far as they are exercisable under the following provisions of this Act by the Commission appointed under section 3 of this Act.
(2) With the functions transferred under subsection (1) of this section there are hereby also transferred as from the dates mentioned in paragraphs (a ) and (b ) of that subsection respectively all rights and liabilities to which the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance or the National Assistance Board were entitled or subject immediately before those dates.
(3) Any enactment, whenever passed, and any instrument, whenever executed, made or given, shall have effect, except in relation to anything done before the commencement of this Act, as if for any reference to the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance there were substituted a reference to the Minister of Social Security; and any instrument, whenever executed, made or given, shall have effect, except in relation to anything done before the date appointed under this section, as if for any reference to the National Assistance Board there were substituted a reference to the Minister of Social Security or to the Commission, as the case may require.
3 The Supplementary Benefits Commission,
(1) There shall be established, in accordance with Schedule 1 to this Act, a Commission, to be known as the Supplementary Benefits Commission, which shall exercise the functions conferred on them by this Act in such manner as shall best promote the welfare of persons affected by the exercise thereof.
(2) The Minister shall make arrangements for securing that such of his officers and servants as may from time to time be requisite for the exercise of the Commission's functions are available to act as officers and servants of the Commission, and may make arrangements with any other Government department or with a local authority for the discharge of those functions by officers and servants of the department or authority.
(3) Any expenses incurred by the Commission with the approval of the Minister shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by the Minister.
Part II
Non-Contributory Benefit
Right to and amount of benefit
4 Right to benefit.
(1) Every person in Great Britain of or over the age of sixteen whose resources are insufficient to meet his requirements shall be entitled, subject to the provisions of this Act, to benefit as follows, that is to say,—
(a ) if he has attained pensionable age, to a supplementary pension,
(b ) if he has not attained pensionable age, to a supplementary allowance,
and, in a case falling within section 6 or 7 of this Act, to such benefit as is mentioned therein.
(2) Where, under the following provisions of this Act, the requirements and resources of any person fall to be aggregated with and to be treated as those of another person that other person only shall be entitled to benefit.
5 Determination of right to and amount of benefit.
(1) The question whether any person is entitled to benefit and the amount of any benefit shall, subject to the provisions of this Act as to appeals, be determined by the Commission and shall be so determined in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act and the other provisions of this Part of this Act and any regulations made by the Minister with the consent of the Treasury.
(2) Regulations under this section may vary the provisions Part II of the said Schedule 2, but not so as to reduce any amount specified therein.
6 Medical requirements etc.
(1) The requirements to be taken into account for the purposes of this Act include any requirement for—
(a ) appliances or services in respect of which charges are for the time being authorised by or under the National Health Service Act 1951 or the National Health Service Act 1952 ; or
(b ) dental services in respect of which charges would be so authorised if the services were provided under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1966 or the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1966;
but do not include any other medical, surgical, optical, aural or dental requirements.
(2) Benefit to meet the requirements mentioned in this section shall be such payment or payments to or on behalf of the person receiving the appliances or services as may be appropriate.
7 Exceptional requirements.
7. Where it appears to the Commission reasonable in all the circumstances they may determine that benefit shall be paid to a person by way of a single payment to meet an exceptional need.
8 Exclusion of persons in full-time employment.
(1) A person shall not be entitled to benefit for any period during which he is engaged in remunerative full-time work, except in a case where this subsection does not apply.
(2) The Minister may by regulations provide for postponing the application of subsection (1) of this section in the case of persons becoming engaged in remunerative full-time work until such period from the beginning of the engagement as may be specified in the regulations.
(3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply in the case of work otherwise than under a contract of service where the earning power of the person engaged in the work is, by reason of a disability, substantially reduced in comparison with that of other persons similarly occupied.
(4) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply in the case of benefit under section 6 of this Act.
9 Exclusion of persons completing secondary education.
(1) A person attending a school or receiving full-time instruction of a kind given in schools shall not be entitled to benefit (without prejudice to the amount of any benefit which a person providing for his requirements may be entitled to) but where it appears to the Commission that there are exceptional circumstances justifying it they may award benefit to a person who would be entitled thereto but for this section.
(2) The Minister may by regulations specify the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated for the purposes of this section as attending a school or receiving full-time instruction of a kind given in schools.
10 Persons affected by trade disputes.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, where by reason of a stoppage of work due to a trade dispute at his place of employment a person is without employment for any period during which the stoppage continues and he has not during that stoppage become bona fide employed elsewhere in the occupation which he usually follows or become regularly...
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