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PIP mobility component excluded from means assessments?
s73(14) of SSCBA 1992 stated that: “A payment to or in respect of any person which is attributable to his entitlement to the mobility component, and the right to receive such a payment, shall (except in prescribed circumstances and for prescribed purposes) be disregarded in applying any enactment or instrument under which regard is to be had to a person’s means.”
I am looking for an equivalent provision for PIP. I can’t see anything in WRA2012 or PIP Regs. I have looked in the amendment regs but probably not as thoroughly as I could have done. Would be grateful for any pointers.
Section 90 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 repeals s73 of the SSC&B Act1992 but I don’t think that it’s yet in force. You might want to consider s17(2)(b) of the Interpretation Act 1978, which is as follows.
“Repeal and re-enactment.
(1)Where an Act repeals a previous enactment and substitutes provisions for the enactment repealed, the repealed enactment remains in force until the substituted provisions come into force.
(2)Where an Act repeals and re-enacts, with or without modification, a previous enactment then, unless the contrary intention appears,—
(a)any reference in any other enactment to the enactment so repealed shall be construed as a reference to the provision re-enacted;
(b)in so far as any subordinate legislation made or other thing done under the enactment so repealed, or having effect as if so made or done, could have been made or done under the provision re-enacted, it shall have effect as if made or done under that provision.”
Hmmm ... I think all that means really is that any references to DLA in other legislation that have been overlooked should in future be read as if they are references to PIP: it isn’t necessary for the Secretary of State to seek out and zap every single mention of DLA in every obscure set of regulations because the Interpretation Act allows the legislation to be read as if the modern term were substituted.
I don’t think it means that the new legislation should be read as having the same effect as the old legislation even if it is different. Otherwise you could say there are three rates of DL component, but there just aren’t and the Interpretation Act cannot make it so.