Social Welfare Act 2012

Recovery of overpayments by deductions from social welfare payments.

13.— (1) Section 341 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (7) by substituting “Subject to subsection (7A), any benefit,” for “Any benefit,”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (7):

“(7A) The weekly amount of any benefit or assistance to be deducted for the purposes of the recovery of any benefit, assistance, supplement or payment in accordance with subsection (7) shall not, without the prior written consent of the person liable to repay the overpayment, exceed 15 per cent of the weekly rate of benefit or assistance to which the person concerned is or becomes entitled.

(7B) In subsection (7A) ‘weekly rate’ means the appropriate weekly rate of benefit or assistance payable to a person under Part 2 or Part 3, but does not include any increases under Part 2 or Part 3 of such benefit or assistance as the case may be.

(7C) A person who is in receipt of any benefit or assistance, other than supplementary welfare allowance, from which a deduction is being made for the repayment of any benefit, assistance, supplement or payment in accordance with subsection (7), shall not be entitled to claim for supplementary welfare allowance under section 196.”.

(2) Section 196(1) (amended by section 9 of the Act of 2010) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting “, section 341(7C)” after “section 341(7)”.