Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013

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Amendment of section 301 of Principal Act

3. (1) Section 301 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) A deciding officer may at any time—

(a) revise any decision of a deciding officer—

(i) where it appears to him or her that the decision was erroneous—

(I) in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which the decision was given, or

(II) by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts,

or

(ii) where—

(I) the effect of the decision was to entitle a person to any benefit within the meaning of section 240, and

(II) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that decision was given,

or

(b) revise any decision of an appeals officer where—

(i) the effect of the decision of the appeals officer was to entitle a person to any benefit within the meaning of section 240, and

(ii) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since the decision of the appeals officer was given,

and the provisions of this Part as to appeals apply to a revised decision under this subsection in the same manner as they apply to an original decision of a deciding officer.”,

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2A) (inserted by section 18 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 ):

“(2A) A deciding officer may at any time revise any determination of a designated person—

(a) where it appears to him or her that the determination was erroneous—

(i) in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which the determination was made, or

(ii) by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts,

or

(b) where—

(i) the effect of the determination was to entitle a person to supplementary welfare allowance, and

(ii) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that determination was made,

and the provisions of this Part as to appeals shall apply to a decision of a deciding officer under this subsection in the same manner as they apply to an original decision of a deciding officer.”,

and

(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(5) In subsections (1)(a)(ii)(II), (1)(b)(ii) and (2A)(b)(ii), the reference to any relevant change of circumstances means any relevant change of circumstances that occurred before, or occurs on or after, the coming into operation of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013.”.

(2) Where, before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a request had been made under section 301 of the Principal Act for a decision or a revised decision on the grounds that there had been any relevant change of circumstances and the request had not been determined, that request shall be determined in accordance with section 301 of the Principal Act as if that section had not been amended by subsection (1).