Social Security Legislation 2021/22 Volume IV: HMRC-Administered Social Security Benefits and Scotland

HMRC-administered Social Security Benefits and Scotland is Volume IV of the 2021/22 edition of the series Social Security Legislation. The companion volumes are: Hooker, Mesher, Mitchell, Ward and Wikeley, Volume I: Non-Means Tested Benefits, Mesher, Poynter and Wikeley, Volume II: Universal Credit, State Pension Credit and the Social Fund, Rowland and Ward, Volume III: Administration, Adjudication and the European Dimension and Mesher, Poynter and Wikeley, Volume V: Income Support and the Legacy Benefits. The “year” in the title refers to the tax/contribution year and indicates the period the books, including the subsequent Supplement, are designed to cover.

Volume IV covers working tax credit (WTC), paid to those working for low earnings, and child tax credit (CTC), which still provide both universal and means-tested support for some 2½ million families covering 5 million children. Reflecting the current migration from legacy benefits to universal credit, this volume now includes the four most significant pieces of secondary legislation that underpin transfer from tax credits to universal credit. Also included is the original text of legislation (with amendments noted) and detailed commentary on the range of social security benefits paid by employers but administered by HMRC, namely statutory sick pay (SSP), statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and statutory shared parental bereavement pay. This year’s volume also includes further SSP amendments made in response to the Coronavirus crisis as well as both the primary and secondary legislation covering tax-free childcare payments under the Childcare Act 2016. Tax legislation that impacts on tax credits is also included (e.g. the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 and the Income Tax Act 2007), as are childcare payments under the Childcare Payments Act 2014 and child trust funds. In addition, we incorporate in this volume, for readers’ convenience, the legislation and associated commentary governing child benefit and guardian’s allowance, so as to provide across the board coverage of HMRC tax credits and benefits.

This year’s volume includes the usual myriad miscellaneous amendments over the past year to both the primary and the secondary legislation governing tax credits and HMRC-administered social security benefits, including Brexit-related material. In addition, this year’s volume includes commentary on analysis of important Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal decisions on evidential, procedural and substantive issues arising in tax credits appeals. The text includes all relevant statutory material with commentary taking account of decisions of the courts and the Upper Tribunal (previously the Social Security Commissioners), along with definitions of key statutory terms. A comprehensive Table of cases is included for easy reference along with a Table of Commissioners’ decisions.

This volume covers:

• HMRC tax credits
• Child benefit and guardian’s allowances
• Statutory sick pay
• Statutory maternity pay and statutory paternity pay
• Statutory adoption pay and statutory shared parental pay
• Statutory shared parental bereavement pay
• Child trust funds
• Childcare payments
• Tax-free childcare payments