claimant commitments

While perusing the three commmencement orders for the Welfare Reform Act, among the amendments to parts of previous statutes, I found two clauses that, basically, say that the section of the WRA that requires ESA and JSA claimants to enter into a claimant commitment takes effect from July this year.

Has anybody come across new claimants for either of these benefits being required to enter into a claimant commitment yet? Or can’t that happen until further regulations are in place?
I have had one client this week who has made a new claim for JSA, but he was asked to sign an old fashioned jobseekers agreement. However, Oldham is going to be one of the pilot areas for UC next April, so clamants here may be treated differently to non-pilot areas.

I had thought the same as you, HK, but on looking earlier today at the detail of exactly what is in the commencement order, I changed my mind.

Section 44(5) came in to force on 10 June ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1246/contents/made ), but that just amends the definition of ‘employment officer’. It doesn’t insert a definition of claimant commitment into the Jobseeker’s Act 1995. For that to happen, s.44(3) and (4) would need to come into force.

The same conclusion is reached when you look at which paragraphs of Schedule 7 are now in force. I’d be interested to hear if anyone knows when the claimant commitment is coming in for real?

Jon

hi -

i think it’s due to come on from 6.4.13 when the draft Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 2012 come into force -

here’s a link to draft regs -

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/jsa-draft-regs-2012.pdf

and explanatory memorandum -

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/jsa-draft-regs-2012-memorandum.pdf

Agreed Ros, that does seem most likely. Although I guess the question then is whether it comes in on that date UK wide, or only in the UC pilot areas.

Quick! Fetch me my copy of the transitional regula… oh.