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Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Bill [HL]

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A bill to Equalise the amount of the standard allowance included in an award of universal credit to which a claimant who has left care is entitled with the amount of that allowance to which a claimant aged 25 or over is entitled; and for connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the King’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:—

1 Care leaver: entitlement to standard allowance of universal credit

(1) The Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/376) are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 36 (table showing amounts of elements), under “Standard allowance”—
(a) after “single claimant aged under 25” insert “, other than a care leaver”, and
(b) after “single claimant aged 25 or over” insert “or a care leaver”.
(3) In regulation 36, after paragraph (3), insert—
(4) In this regulation, “care leaver” means a person aged at least 16 and under 25 who—
(a) is not being looked after by a local authority, but
(b) was being looked after by a local authority on or after reaching the age of 16, and
(c) had been so looked after for at least 13 weeks (continuously or not continuously) at least some of which was when the person was aged 14 or 15.
(4) In regulation 2, in the definition of “care leaver”, after “in regulation 8” insert “, except in regulation 36”.
(5) The amendments made by subsections (1) to (4) do not affect the power to make further regulations amending or revoking the provision made by those amendments.
(6) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make transitional, transitory or saving provision in connection with the commencement of this section.
(7) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (6) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

2 Short title, commencement and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Act 2024.
(2) This Act comes into force at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act extends to England and Wales and Scotland.