National Insurance Act 1965

Subject to the provisions of this Act—

For the purposes of this Act, insured persons shall be divided into the following three classes, namely—

Provision may be made by regulations for modifying the classification aforesaid in relation to cases where it appears to the Minister desirable by reason of the nature or circumstances of a person's employment or otherwise, and such regulations may in particular provide—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, where in any income tax week there is made to or for the benefit of a person over the age of eighteen a payment on account of his remuneration in any one employment of an amount exceeding nine pounds (or the equivalent amount for remuneration not paid weekly), then if the employment was an employed contributor's employment and is not at the time of the payment a non-participating employment and that person either is under pensionable age or has not retired from regular employment—

In relation to graduated contributions, references in this Act to remuneration shall be taken to include, and to include only, any emoluments assessable to income tax under Schedule E (other than pensions), being emoluments from which tax under that Schedule is deductible, but shall apply to a payment of any such remuneration whether or not tax in fact falls to be deducted from that payment.

Except in so far as regulations otherwise provide, the graduated contributions payable in any income tax week in respect of a person's remuneration shall be determined—

Where a person in any income tax year is paid remuneration from two or more employments, and the graduated contributions paid by him in respect of that remuneration exceed the prescribed amount, the excess—

For the purpose of graduated contributions, any sums deducted (whether for contributions, for income tax or otherwise) from any payment of remuneration which is or would but for the deduction be made shall, except in so far as regulations otherwise provide, be treated as paid on account of the remuneration; and for the purpose aforesaid any payment of remuneration shall be disregarded in so far as it is directed by regulations to be treated as coming from sums comprised in a previous payment of remuneration or to be otherwise excluded from the computation of a person's remuneration.

Provision shall be made by regulations for determining the graduated contributions payable where the whole or part of a person's remuneration in any employment is not paid weekly (and accordingly for determining the equivalent amounts mentioned in subsection (1) of this section), and may include provision for modifying subsection (3) of this section; and regulations may also, for the purpose of graduated contributions, make provision as to the intervals at which a person's remuneration or any part of it is to be treated as paid where it is not all paid at the same intervals of a week or longer and in the amounts due for those or for corresponding intervals.

Regulations may also in relation to graduated contributions make provision—

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, in each of the three years 1970, 1975 and 1980 the rates of contribution payable by insured persons and employers shall be increased (for that and subsequent years) as follows:—

If the Minister with the consent of the Treasury by order so directs, the foregoing subsection shall have effect in relation to the increases to be made in any of the three years specified therein with the substitution for the references to fivepence, to tenpence and to a quarter of references to any less amounts specified by the order.

Where it appears to the Treasury expedient so to do with a view to maintaining a stable level of employment, they may by order direct that contributions under section 3 of this Act, instead of being paid at the rates set out in Schedule 1 thereto, shall, for such periods as may be specified by or determined in accordance with the order, be paid at such higher or lower rates as may be so specified or determined, so, however, that an order under this section shall not provide for increasing or reducing the rate of any contribution as an employed person and the rate of the corresponding employer's contribution by different amounts.

Contributions payable in accordance with any order under this section shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be contributions payable in accordance with the relevant provisions of the said section 3 and Schedule 1.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament, in such manner and at such times as the Treasury may determine, for each of the following contributions, being contributions under section 3 of this Act, the amount (hereafter in this Act referred to as " the Exchequer supplement") hereinafter respectively specified, that is to say— so, however, that the aggregate amount paid in any financial year for the Exchequer supplements in respect of contributions paid in that year shall not be less than one hundred and seventy million pounds.

For the purposes of the foregoing subsection, the number of contributions of any class paid in any period shall be estimated in such manner as the Treasury may determine.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations, no person shall be entitled to pay any contribution under this Act other than a contribution which he is liable to pay.

If any employer or insured person fails to pay at or within the time prescribed for the purpose any contribution which he is liable under this Act to pay, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Apart from any graduated contribution—

Subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, an insured person shall be deemed for the purposes of the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to contributions to be—

Where as respects any employed contributor's employment— then that employment shall, in relation to that week, be disregarded for the purposes of subsections (3) and (4) of this section; and regulations may provide as respects any period during which no services are rendered by an employed person that for the purposes of this subsection any payments which he receives or is entitled (whether conditionally or not) to receive in any prescribed circumstances are or are not to be deemed to be remuneration paid in respect of any day in that period.

Regulations may provide for disregarding for the purposes of subsections (3) to (5) of this section any employment in which a person engages or continues to be engaged solely or mainly for the purpose of acquiring or preserving a right or a larger right to benefit.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, regulations may provide for—

Regulations made under paragraph (a)(iii) of the foregoing subsection shall not provide for excepting a person from liability to pay contributions otherwise than on that person's own application, but may provide for so excepting a person with effect from any date not earlier than thirteen weeks before the date on which his application was made; and regulations made under paragraph (b) of that subsection shall not provide for crediting contributions to a person excepted from liability to pay them by virtue of the said paragraph (a)(iii) otherwise than for the purpose of entitling that person to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit for periods after he has ceased to be so excepted.

Except where regulations otherwise prescribe, an employer liable to pay a contribution in respect of a person employed by him shall in the first instance be liable to pay also, on behalf and to the exclusion of that person— and for the purposes of this Act contributions paid by an employer on behalf of an insured person shall be deemed to be contributions by the insured person.

Notwithstanding any contract to the contrary, an employer shall not be entitled to deduct from the wages or other remuneration of a person employed by him, or otherwise to recover from such a person, any employer's contribution in respect of that person; and any employer who deducts or attempts to deduct the whole or any part of any employer's contribution in respect of any person from his wages or other remuneration shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

An employer shall be entitled to recover from an insured person— the amount of any contribution paid or to be paid by the employer on behalf of that person.

The Minister may, in such cases and on such conditions as he may prescribe, make an arrangement with any employer who is liable to pay employer's contributions under this Act and whose practice it is to engage persons through an employment exchange or other agency approved by the Minister whereby, in respect of persons so engaged by that employer or in the employ of that employer on the date of the arrangement, the performance of all or any of the duties required under this Act to be performed in connection with the payment of contributions by the employer in respect of those persons, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of those persons, shall be undertaken on behalf of the employer by the employment exchange or other agency.

For the purposes of this and the next following section, references to a person's remuneration shall be construed, in relation to any period, as including any payments which by virtue of regulations made under section 8(5) of this Act are deemed for the purposes of the said section 8(5) to be remuneration paid to him in respect of any day in that period.

The provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to the recovery by an employer from an insured person of the amount of any contribution under section 3 of this Act paid or to be paid by the employer on behalf of that person.

Where the insured person receives from the employer any wages or other pecuniary remuneration in respect of an employed contributor's employment, the amount of any contribution paid or to be paid by the employer on behalf of the insured person shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any Act or any contract to the contrary, be recoverable by means of deductions from such wages or other remuneration due from the employer to that person and not otherwise: Provided that—

Where the wages or other pecuniary remuneration of an insured person are paid at calendar monthly intervals, then, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, it shall be lawful for the employer, at his option, to recover from each such payment of wages or remuneration, in lieu of the amount authorised to be recovered by him in accordance with the said provisions, an amount equal to one-twelfth of the contributions paid or to be paid by the employer on behalf of the insured person during the calendar year : Provided that—

The amount of any contribution not yet paid shall not be recoverable except under and in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) of this section; and if any person contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (2) or paragraph (a) or (c) of the proviso to subsection (3) of this section, he shall for each offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds or, where the offence consists of continuing such a contravention or failure after conviction thereof, ten pounds together with a further ten pounds for each day on which it is so continued.

Where the insured person does not receive any wages or other pecuniary remuneration from the employer but receives such remuneration from some other person, the amount of any contribution paid by the employer on behalf of the insured person shall (without prejudice to any other means of recovery) be recoverable from the insured person summarily as a civil debt if proceedings for the purpose are instituted within three months from the date on which the contribution was payable.

Where the insured person does not receive any wages or other pecuniary remuneration in respect of an employed contributor's employment either from his employer or from any other person, the employer shall be liable to pay the contributions payable both by himself and the insured person and shall not be entitled to recover any part thereof from the insured person.

Regulations with respect to such recovery as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section may make provision additional to that made by this section and may vary or revoke any of the provisions of this section other than subsection (6) and so much of subsection (2) as precedes the proviso thereto.

In its application to Scotland, subsection (5) of this section shall have effect as if the word " summarily" were omitted.

Regulations may provide—

Where under regulations made by virtue of subsection (1) of this section contributions under this Act, with or without contributions under the Industrial Injuries Act, are payable by means of adhesive stamps, those stamps (hereafter in this Act referred to as " insurance stamps ") shall be prepared and issued in such manner as the Postmaster General, with the consent of the Treasury, may direct; and the Postmaster General may—

Regulations made by the Minister by virtue of this section providing for the payment of contributions, at the option of the persons liable to pay, either— may include provision for the payment to the Minister by any person who adopts any alternative method, and for the recovery by the Minister, of the prescribed fees in respect of the difference in the expense in administration.

Regulations made under section 14(1) of this Act with the concurrence of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue may provide for graduated contributions to be paid, accounted for and recovered in like manner as, and with, income tax deducted from the emoluments of an office or employment by virtue of regulations under section 157 (pay as you earn) of the Income Tax Act 1952.

Any such regulations may—

Sections 46 and 47 of the Finance Act 1960 shall apply in relation to regulations made by virtue of this section as they apply in relation to regulations made under the said section 157 ; and if a person fails to pay at or within the time prescribed for the purpose any sums which he is required by regulations made by virtue of this section to pay, he shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished under section 8(2) of this Act as for a failure so to pay a contribution under this Act, without proof of his failure so to pay any particular contribution.

The Commissioners of Inland Revenue shall at such times and in such manner as the Treasury may direct account to the Minister for, and pay to him, the sums estimated by the Commissioners, in such manner as may be so directed, to have been received by them as contributions in accordance with regulations made by virtue of this section.

With a view to securing that contribution years begin in the case of all or any insured persons with the first Monday in April, regulations may provide for contribution years not so beginning to be on any occasion shorter than fifty-two or longer than fifty-three weeks so as to end immediately before that Monday, and may modify the contribution conditions for any benefit and any other provisions of this Act in such manner as appears to the Minister to be expedient to take account of the shorter or longer contribution year.

In relation to persons who— and in relation to any other cases for which it appears to the Minister that special provision is needed, regulations may provide that for the purposes of this Act the prescribed person shall be treated as their employer; and regulations made by virtue of paragraph (b) of this subsection may provide for adjusting the rights between themselves of the person prescribed as the employer, the immediate employer and the persons employed.

References in this Act to a person's employer shall not be construed as including his employer in any employment other than one which is an employed contributor's employment or, in the case of a person who is not, but would if he were under pensionable age be, an insured person, an employment which would be an employed contributor's employment in his case if he were under that age.

Subject to subsection (4) of this section—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to section 9(b), paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 11 and subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any reference in this Act to the yearly average of the contributions paid by or credited to any person shall be construed as referring to contributions as an insured person only, and to that average (calculated in the prescribed manner) over the period—

For the purpose of calculating the yearly average of the contributions paid by or credited to a person who entered into insurance over the age of sixteen having attained that age after 5th July 1948, he shall not be deemed to have attained school leaving age before the date on which he attained the age of sixteen.

For the purposes of any such reference as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, there shall be left out of account any graduated contribution.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person who satisfies the requirements of subsection (2) or (3) of this section shall be entitled— at the weekly rate provided for by the said subsection (2) or, as the case may be, the said subsection (3).

If the person claiming unemployment benefit or sickness benefit for any day— the benefit shall be payable at the appropriate weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act.

If the person claiming unemployment benefit or sickness benefit for any day— the benefit shall be payable at the weekly rate at which, apart from any increase by virtue of any provision of this Act, the retirement pension would have been payable.

In determining for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section the rate at which a retirement pension would have been payable, section 30(7) of this Act shall be deemed not to apply.

In relation to a claimant or beneficiary who is a woman and is or has been married, the reference in subsection (3)(b) of this section to a retirement pension shall be construed as referring only to a retirement pension payable under section 30 of this Act by virtue of her own insurance.

A person shall not be entitled either to unemployment benefit or to sickness benefit for the first three days of any period of interruption of employment unless, within the period of thirteen weeks beginning with the first of those days, he has a further nine days of interruption of employment forming part of the same period of interruption of employment.

A woman who has been confined and is entitled to a maternity grant in respect of that confinement (or would be so entitled if she made the necessary claim) shall not be entitled to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit in respect of any day falling within the period of four weeks beginning with the date of the confinement; and this subsection shall apply in relation to a woman whose pregnancy is terminated otherwise than by confinement after she has become entitled to a maternity grant an expectation of her confinement as if she had been confined and the date of the confinement were the date on which her pregnancy is so terminated.

The amount payable by way of benefit under this section for any day of unemployment or of incapacity for work shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate.

For the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit—

Regulations may—

A person who, in respect of any period of interruption of employment, has been entitled to unemployment benefit for one hundred and eighty days shall not thereafter be entitled to that benefit for any day of unemployment (whether in the same or a subsequent period of interruption of employment) unless before that day he has requalified for benefit: Provided that, in the case of a person who before exhausting his right to unemployment benefit under this subsection has qualified in accordance with regulations for additional days of unemployment benefit (depending on the contributions of the appropriate class paid by him and the unemployment benefit to which he has been entitled), this subsection shall apply with the substitution for the reference to one hundred and eighty days of a reference to such greater number of days as may be allowed by the regulations.

A person who— shall not be entitled to sickness benefit for that day unless since the last of the said three hundred and twelve days and before that day he has requalified for benefit.

Where a person has exhausted his right to either of the said benefits—

Regulations may provide for treating a person for the purposes of this section as having been entitled to benefit for any day if he would have been so entitled but for any delay or failure to make or prosecute a claim or give a notice : Provided that a person shall not be so treated where he shows that he did not intend, by failing to acquire or establish a right to benefit for that day, to avoid the necessity of requalifying for benefit under this section.

A person who has lost employment in an employed contributor's employment by reason of a stoppage of work which was due to a trade dispute at his place of employment shall be disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit so long as the stoppage of work continues, except in a case where, during the stoppage of work, he has become bona fide employed elsewhere in the occupation which he usually follows or has become regularly engaged in some other occupation: Provided that this subsection shall not apply in the case of a person who proves—

A person shall be disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit for such period not exceeding six weeks as may be determined in accordance with Part IV of this Act if—

Regulations may provide for disqualifying a person for receiving sickness benefit for such period not exceeding six weeks as may be determined in accordance with Part IV of this Act if—

Regulations may also provide for imposing in the case of any class of persons additional conditions with respect to the receipt of unemployment benefit or sickness benefit and restrictions on the rate and duration thereof, if, having regard to special circumstances, it appears to the Minister necessary so to do for the purpose of preventing inequalities, or injustice to the general body of employed persons or of employed and self-employed persons, as the case may be.

For the purposes of this section, employment shall not be deemed to be employment suitable in the case of any person if it is either— but, after the lapse of such an interval from the date on which he becomes unemployed as in the circumstances of the case is reasonable, employment shall not be deemed to be unsuitable by reason only that it is employment of a kind other than employment in his usual occupation if it is employment at a rate of remuneration not lower, and on conditions not less favourable, than those generally observed by agreement between associations of employers and of employees or, failing any such agreement, than those generally recognised by good employers.

In this section—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a woman shall be entitled to a maternity grant of the amount specified in relation thereto in Schedule 4 to this Act if she has been confined and either—

Except where regulations otherwise provide, a woman shall not be entitled to a maternity grant in respect of a confinement if on the date of the confinement she is outside Great Britain.

Regulations may provide that a woman confined of twins or a greater number of children shall, if the other conditions for the payment of a maternity grant are satisfied in respect of the confinement, be entitled to a maternity grant for each of them.

Regulations may provide that the provisions of this section shall apply to a woman, in a case where her claim indicates that she so desires, with the substitution for the condition that she has been confined of the condition that she is pregnant and has reached a stage in her pregnancy which is not more than the prescribed number of contribution weeks before that in which it is to be expected that she will be confined, and may modify the contribution conditions for a maternity grant in their application to such a case.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, a woman shall not be entitled to more than one maternity grant in respect of any one confinement.

For the purposes of this section the expression " husband " includes a widow's late husband where the benefit is claimed in respect of a posthumous son or daughter of his.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a woman shall be entitled to a maternity allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if—

Subject to the following provisions of this section, the period for which a maternity allowance is payable shall be the period of eighteen weeks beginning with the eleventh week before the expected week of confinement.

A woman who has become entitled to a maternity allowance shall cease to be entitled thereto if she dies before the beginning of the period mentioned in subsection (2) of this section; and if such a woman dies after the beginning but before the end of that period the allowance shall not be payable for any week subsequent to that in which she dies.

Regulations may provide that a woman who has become entitled to a maternity allowance shall cease to be entitled thereto if her pregnancy is terminated otherwise than by confinement.

Regulations may make provision, as respects cases where the date of the confinement occurs after the end of the expected week of confinement, for extending the period referred to in subsection (2) of this section until the end of such week (not being later than the sixth week after that in which the date of the confinement occurs) as may be prescribed by the regulations.

Regulations may modify subsections (1)(a) and (b), (2) and (3) of this section in relation to cases where a woman has been confined and either— and may modify the contribution conditions set out in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 to this Act in their application to such cases by substituting references to the week comprising the date of the confinement for references to the expected week of confinement.

Regulations may provide for disqualifying a woman for receiving a maternity allowance if—

In this section the expression " week " means a contribution week.

In this Part of this Act—

The fact that the mother of an illegitimate child is entitled to maternity benefit shall not be taken into consideration—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a widow shall be entitled to widow's allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if—

The period for which widow's allowance is payable to a widow shall be the thirteen weeks next following the husband's death: Provided that the allowance shall not be payable for any period after the widow's death or remarriage or for any period during which she is cohabiting with a man as his wife.

In this section the expression " the husband ", in relation to a woman who has been married more than once, refers only to her last husband.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a widow shall be entitled to a widowed mother's allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if the husband satisfied the contribution conditions set out in paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 2 to this Act and either—

The condition referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section is that the widow's family includes a child with respect to whom one of the conditions specified in section 42(1) of this Act is for the time being satisfied and who either—

The period for which a widowed mother's allowance is payable to a widow shall be any period during which she satisfies the requirements of subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) of this section and for which she is not entitled to a widow's allowance: Provided that the allowance shall not be payable for any period after the widow's remarriage or for any period during which she is cohabiting with a man as his wife.

In this section, the expression " the husband ", in relation to a woman who has been married more than once, refers only to her last husband.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and in particular to paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Schedule 11 thereto, a widow shall be entitled to a widow's pension at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if the husband satisfied the contribution conditions set out in paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 2 to this Act and there are also satisfied either—

The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section are that at the husband's death—

The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section are that the widow ceases, or has since 20th December 1964 ceased, to be entitled to a widowed mother's allowance at a time when—

The period for which widow's pension is payable to a widow shall be any period during which she is under the age of sixty-five and for which she is not entitled to a widow's allowance or widowed mother's allowance: Provided that the pension shall not be payable for any period after the widow's remarriage or for any period during which she is cohabiting with a man as his wife.

Where a widow has been married more than once—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to section 42(1) thereof, a person shall be entitled to a guardian's allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act in respect of any child who is for the time being a child of his family if—

Regulations may modify paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing subsection in relation to cases where—

Regulations may provide for the payment of guardian's allowance under this section in respect of a child as if both parents of the child were dead in cases where one parent is dead and the surviving parent is serving (or is to be treated in accordance with the regulations as serving) a sentence of imprisonment of not less than the prescribed length or of imprisonment for life, or is (or is to be so treated as being) in legal custody in any other prescribed circumstances; and any such regulations may include provision—

Where subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section have been modified by virtue of subsection (2) of this section so as to make guardian's allowance payable in respect of a child not on the death of the child's parents but on the death of two persons who are not the child's parents or of whom one is not the child's parent, subsection (3) of this section shall apply as if those persons were the child's parents.

In the case of a child who is a child of the family of a man and his wife, the wife only shall be entitled to a guardian's allowance, but subsections (2) to (6) of section 4 of the Family Allowances Act (which relate to the persons to receive an allowance under that Act payable in respect of such a child) shall apply in relation to a guardian's allowance as they apply in relation to an allowance under that Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to a retirement pension at the appropriate weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if—

For the purposes of this Act, a person may, subject to subsection (3) of this section, be treated as having retired from regular employment at any time after he has attained pensionable age—

For the purposes of this Act, but subject to subsection (4) of this section, a person shall not be treated as having retired from regular employment unless he has complied with the prescribed requirements as to notice of the date of his retirement and—

For the purposes of this Act a person who has not previously retired from regular employment shall be deemed so to retire on the expiration of five years from his attaining pensionable age.

References in this Act to the date of a person's retirement shall be construed in accordance with subsections (2) to (4) of this section.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a retirement pension shall commence from the date of retirement and shall be payable for life.

Subject to any regulations under section 44(a) of this Act, where the earnings of a beneficiary who is less than five years over pensionable age have exceeded five pounds for the calendar week ending last before any week for which he is entitled to a retirement pension, the weekly rate of his pension shall for the last-mentioned week be reduced by sixpence for each complete shilling of the excess and a further sixpence for each complete shilling by which the earnings exceed six pounds: Provided that this subsection shall not affect the rate of the pension for the first week after the date of the beneficiary's retirement.

Subject to section 30(7) of this Act, paragraphs 7 and 9 of Schedule 11 thereto and any regulations under subsection (2) of this section, the weekly rate of a retirement pension under the said section 30 shall be increased by one shilling for every twelve contributions (not being graduated contributions) as an employed or self-employed person paid by the beneficiary in respect of the period after his attaining pensionable age.

Regulations may provide that, in such cases and subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed, a contribution paid by a woman over pensionable age in respect of any contribution week for the whole of which— shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to paragraph 5 of Schedule 11 thereto, a woman over pensionable age shall be entitled to a retirement pension by virtue of her husband's insurance at the appropriate weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act if there are satisfied—

The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section are—

The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section are—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a retirement pension payable to a woman by virtue of subsection (1) of this section shall commence from the date on which the provisions of that subsection are satisfied in relation to the pension and shall be payable for life.

Section 30(7) of this Act shall apply to a retirement pension payable to a woman by virtue of her husband's insurance as it applies to a pension payable by virtue of a person's own insurance.

A woman shall not be entitled for the same period to more than one retirement pension, but if she would be so entitled but for this subsection may, on such occasion and in such manner as may be prescribed, choose which she shall be entitled to.

Where on attaining pensionable age a woman is married, she shall not be entitled under section 30 of this Act to a retirement pension by virtue of her own insurance unless either—

Subject to paragraph 6 of Schedule 11 to this Act, where immediately before attaining pensionable age a woman is a widow, she may elect that, in calculating for the purpose of her right under the said section 30 to a retirement pension by virtue of her own insurance the yearly average of the contributions paid by or credited to her, there shall be treated as so paid or credited either— a number of contributions equal to the yearly average (ascertained as at the date of his attaining pensionable age or dying under that age) of the contributions paid by or credited to him, instead of the number of contributions actually paid by or credited to her for that year.

Any reference in this section to contributions shall be construed as a reference to contributions other than graduated contributions.

Subject to section 30(7) of this Act and to paragraph 8 of Schedule 11 thereto, in respect of any contributions as an employed or self-employed person paid by a man for any period after his attaining pensionable age—

Subject to the said paragraph 8, where by virtue of such an election as is provided for by section 35 of this Act a woman pays or has paid contributions as an employed or self-employed person for a period after her attaining pensionable age, then in relation to a retirement pension under the said section 32 payable to her by virtue of her husband's insurance the contributions so paid by her for any period after his death shall be taken into account under subsection (1) of this section as if they were contributions paid by the husband as mentioned in that subsection.

In relation to a woman married after attaining pensionable age, the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to any prescribed modifications.

Any reference in this section to contributions shall be construed as a reference to contributions other than graduated contributions.

Regulations may provide that, in the case of a person of such description as may be prescribed who— this Act shall have effect as if that person had not retired or become entitled as aforesaid: Provided that, where a husband and wife have both become entitled to retirement pensions by virtue of the husband's insurance, the husband shall not be entitled to elect as aforesaid without the consent of the wife, unless that consent is unreasonably withheld.

Any such regulations may make such modifications of this Act in its application in a case where a person elects as aforesaid as may appear to the Minister necessary or expedient, and may in particular provide for determining how contributions (other than graduated contributions) paid by that person, whether before or after that person's first retirement or, as the case may be, first becoming entitled to a retirement pension, are to be dealt with for the purposes of section 31(1) of, or paragraph 7 or 8(2) of Schedule 11 to, this Act.

Subject to the provisions of the Act, graduated retirement benefit shall be payable to any person who is over pensionable age and who is entitled to a retirement pension, and shall be an increase in the weekly rate of his retirement pension equal to 18.51 pence for each unit, ascertained in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section, of the graduated contributions properly paid by him as an insured person, the result being rounded to the nearest whole penny, taking ½p as nearest to the next whole penny above.

For the purpose of graduated retirement benefit , a unit of graduated contributions shall be £7.50.

Where a person’s graduated contributions calculated at the said rate do not make an exact number of units any incomplete fraction of a unit shall, if it is one-half or more, be treated as a complete unit.

Where a person's entitlement to graduated retirement benefit is deferred— shall have effect and both those Schedules shall be construed and have effect as if they were part of this subsection.

For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, the Secretary of State may by regulations provide for treating all or any of the graduated contributions paid by a person in the tax year in which he attained pensionable age as having been paid before, or as having been paid after, the day on which he attained that age, whether or not the contribution in question was so paid.

For the purposes of subsection (4), a person's entitlement to graduated retirement benefit is deferred— and in relation to graduated retirement benefit, “period of deferment” shall be construed accordingly.

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A person who attained pensionable age before 6 April 2016 and has claimed, but is not entitled to a retirement pension (except a person who is not so entitled because of an election under section 54(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or because he has withdrawn his claim), shall be treated for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section as receiving a retirement pension at a nominal weekly rate: Provided that—

In this section and in section 37 below— and any reference in section 37 below to “section 36 of this Act” or to any of its subsections is a reference to that section or subsection as it is here set out.

This section and section 37 below and the Act shall be construed and have effect as if this section and section 37 below were included in Chapter I of Part II or that Act (contributory benefits); and references to that Chapter, that Part of that Act in any other enactment or in any instrument shall be construed accordingly: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the construction of any reference to section 36 or 37 of this Act or of that Act or to any of the subsections of those sections; and any increase in the weekly rate of a person’s retirement pension, to the extent that it is attributable to subsection (4) of this section, shall be left out of account in determining the weekly rate of that pension for the purposes of section 30B(3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, regulations 11(1) and 18(7) of the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) (Transitional) Regulations 1995 and regulation 10(6) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 1996 (rates of incapacity benefit and jobseeker’s allowance in transitional cases for persons over pensionable age).

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Subject to the provisions of this section and to Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations , where a person, having paid graduated contributions as an insured person, dies leaving a widow, widower , surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner and the survivor— then section 36 of this Act shall apply as if the increase in the weekly rate of the retirement pension of the widow, widower , surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner, as the case may be, provided for by subsection (1) thereof were the amount there specified by reference to his or her graduated contributions with the addition of one-half of the weekly rate of the graduated retirement benefit of his or her former spouse or civil partner (any amount including ½p being rounded to the next whole penny above) ....

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the weekly rate of the deceased spouse’s or civil partner's graduated retirement benefit shall (whether or not he or she was receiving or entitled to receive any such benefit) be taken to have been the weekly rate appropriate to the amount of graduated contributions paid by him or her (determined as if any orders which have come into force under section 124 of the Act (increases in rates of benefit) since the date of the deceased spouse’s or civil partner's death had come into force before that date), excluding any addition under section 37(1) of this Act, but including any addition under section 36(4) thereof (and for the purpose of calculating the addition under section 36(4), taking into account any addition under section 37(1)); and where at his or her death he or she had attained pensionable age but had not become entitled to graduated retirement benefit, that addition shall be computed as if he or she had ... become entitled to graduated retirement benefit immediately before his or her death.

A person’s right to graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section shall be brought into account under section 36(4) of this Act in determining the graduated retirement benefit payable to him or her under the said section 36: Provided that, if the termination of the marriage or civil partnership by death occurred after he or she attained pensionable age, he or she shall for the purposes of this subsection be treated as not having attained pensionable age until the date of that termination.

A person’s right to graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section in respect of a spouse he or she marries , or as the case may be, a civil partner he or she forms a civil partnership with, after attaining pensionable age shall be subject to such additional conditions as may be prescribed; and except as may be provided by regulations a person more than once married or who has formed a civil partnership more than once or who has been both married and a civil partner shall not be entitled for the same period to any graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section in respect of more than one of his or her spouses or civil partners.

Regulations may provided that where a woman is entitled to graduated retirement benefit and to a widowed mother’s allowance the graduated retirement benefit shall be an increase in the weekly rate of that allowance; and where the benefit is such an increase, section 36(7) of this Act shall not apply.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to paragraph 10 of Schedule 11 thereto, a death grant of the amount specified in relation thereto in Schedule 4 to this Act shall be payable in respect of the death of any person (hereafter in this section referred to as " the deceased") if the deceased either himself satisfied the contribution conditions set out in paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2 to this Act, or was at death the husband, wife, widower, widow, or a child of the family, of a person satisfying those conditions, or a child who—

With respect to cases where the deceased was at death a child but the requirements of the foregoing subsection are not satisfied, regulations may provide for death grant to be payable if the contribution conditions aforesaid were satisfied by such other person as may be prescribed.

Where at his death the deceased was not a child but was under the age of nineteen years and would, if he had been under the age of sixteen years, have been a child by virtue of section 2(1)(c) of the Family Allowances Act (which relates to persons incapacitated by reason of illness or disability of mind or body), then, for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section, the deceased shall be treated as if he had been a child at his death.

Except where regulations otherwise provide, a death grant shall not be payable in respect of a death occurring outside Great Britain.

Subject to subsections (5) and (6) of this section and to sections 41(4) and 42 of this Act, the weekly rate of unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, a maternity allowance, a retirement pension or a widow's allowance shall, for any period for which the beneficiary has a family which includes a child or children, be increased in respect of that child or each respectively of those children by the appropriate amount specified in relation to the benefit in question in column 3, 4 or 5 of Schedule 3 to this Act.

In the application of subsection (1) of this section to a maternity allowance, references therein to a child or children shall include references to any child or children born to the beneficiary on the occasion of the confinement by reason of whose actual or expected occurrence she became entitled to the allowance.

Subject to section 42 of this Act, the weekly rate of a widowed mother's allowance payable by virtue of subsection (1)(a) of section 27 of this Act shall be increased for any period in respect of the child or, if more than one, each respectively of the children falling within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (2) of the said section 27 for the time being included in her family by the appropriate amount specified in relation to that allowance in the said column 3, 4 or 5.

Subject to section 42 of this Act, the weekly rate of a child's special allowance shall, for any period for which the beneficiary has a family which includes two or more children with respect to whom the conditions specified in section 38(b) and (c) of this Act are satisfied, be increased in respect of each respectively of those children other than the elder or eldest by the appropriate amount specified in relation to that allowance in the said column 4 or 5.

Where the beneficiary by whom an increase of benefit under this section is claimed is a married woman residing with her husband, it shall be an additional condition with respect to receipt of that increase that her husband is incapable of self-support.

Regulations may provide that subsection (1) of this section shall cease to apply to a maternity allowance or shall apply to such an allowance only in prescribed cases.

The provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to increases under section 40 of this Act of benefits other than a child's special allowance.

Subject to section 42 of this Act, a child of the family of any woman for the time being residing with the beneficiary shall be treated for the purposes of the said section 40 as a child of the beneficiary's family if the child—

Subject to the said section 42, where a man is entitled to unemployment benefit, sickness benefit or a retirement pension, there shall be treated for the purposes of the said section 40 as included in the beneficiary's family any child who, on the day for which the increase provided for by that section, is claimed, though not so included, could have been treated under paragraph 3 of the Schedule to the Family Allowances Act as so included, or could have been treated under that paragraph as so included but for the fact that the beneficiary is contributing to the cost of providing for the child at a weekly rate which, though not less than the prescribed rate, is less than the minimum rate for the time being required for the purposes of section 3(2) of that Act.

In the case of a retirement pension— and where, but for paragraph (b) of this subsection, a man and his wife would both be entitled to an increase of a retirement pension under the said section 40(1), regulations may make provision as to their priority.

Where, apart from this subsection, a person is entitled to receive, in respect of a particular child who is, or who falls to be treated for the purposes of the relevant provision as, a child of that person's family, payment of an amount by way of a guardian's allowance under section 29 or a child's special allowance under section 38 of this Act or of an increase under any of the provisions of section 40 of this Act of any benefit, that amount shall not be payable unless one of the following conditions is satisfied, that is to say—

For the purposes of the foregoing subsection, a child's special allowance shall be treated as a payment in respect of an only, or the elder or eldest, child with respect to whom the conditions specified in section 38(b) and (c) of this Act are satisfied, without prejudice, however, to any payment by way of an increase of the allowance in respect of any other such child under section 40(4) of this Act.

Where a person is entitled in respect of a child to a guardian's allowance under section 29 of this Act, the amount, if any, payable to that or any other person by way of any other benefit under this Act in respect of children of any family shall be such, and such only, as would be payable if the first-mentioned child were not included or treated as included in any family.

Subject to the provisions of this section, the weekly rate of unemployment benefit, sickness benefit or a retirement pension shall be increased by the amount respectively specified in relation to the benefit in question in column 6 of Schedule 3 to this Act for any period during which—

Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the weekly rate of unemployment benefit or sickness benefit shall, except in the case of a beneficiary entitled to an increase thereof in respect of his wife under subsection (1) of this section, be increased by the amount specified as aforesaid— Provided that a beneficiary shall not be entitled for the same period to an increase of benefit under this subsection in respect of more than one person.

Where a person is entitled to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit by virtue of section 19(3) of this Act—

The weekly rate of a retirement pension shall be increased by the amount specified as aforesaid for any period with respect to which the requirements of subsection (2)(c) of this section are satisfied in respect of the beneficiary: Provided that this subsection shall not apply if the beneficiary—

In the case of a retirement pension, this section, so far as it relates to the amount of the increase, shall have effect subject to section 30(7) of this Act.

Subject to subsection (7) of this section, the weekly rate of a maternity allowance shall be increased by the amount specified as aforesaid for any period such as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c) of this section, but a woman shall not be entitled for the same period to an increase of benefit by virtue of this subsection in respect of more than one person.

The weekly rate of a maternity allowance shall not be increased under subsection (6) of this section in respect of any person for any such period as is mentioned in subsection (2) (b) or (c) of this section unless the beneficiary would, if she were entitled to sickness benefit for that period, be entitled for that period to an increase of sickness benefit in respect of that person if she had made the necessary claim ; and for the purpose of the application of the provisions of this subsection, any such period shall be deemed not to include any day which under section 20(1)(e) of this Act is to be disregarded in computing a period of consecutive days for the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit.

Regulations may provide that the weekly rate of a maternity allowance shall no longer be increased under subsection (6) of this section, or shall be so increased only in prescribed cases, and may vary or revoke the provisions of subsection (7) of this section.

In this section, the expression " relative" does not include any person who is a child, but includes a person who is a relative by marriage or adoption and a person who would be a relative if some person born illegitimate had been born legitimate.

Subject to the provisions of this section, regulations may provide for entitling to unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, a maternity allowance, widow's benefit, a retirement pension or a death grant persons who would be entitled thereto but for the fact—

The reference in subsection (1)(b) of this section to the relevant contribution conditions includes a reference to those conditions as modified by regulations in their application to cases falling within section 24(6) of this Act.

Regulations under this section shall provide that benefit payable by virtue of any such regulations shall be payable at a rate, or shall be of an amount, less than that specified in Schedule 3 or 4 to this Act, and the rate or amount prescribed by the regulations may vary with the extent to which the contribution conditions are satisfied: Provided that the amount of— shall be the same as if the relevant contribution conditions had been fully satisfied.

Regulations under this section shall apply to child's special allowance in like manner as they apply to widow's benefit, except that the weekly rate of such an allowance payable by virtue of those regulations shall be the same as if the relevant contribution conditions had been fully satisfied.

Any body of persons claiming to represent, or to be entitled to be treated as representing, insured persons of any class and (if or in so far as the class is a class of employed persons) their employers may submit to the Minister a scheme (hereafter in this Act referred to as a " supplementary scheme ") for supplementing the rights conferred on those insured persons by this Act, whether by providing for additional payments in cases for which benefit is provided by this Act, or by providing for payments in other cases, or otherwise.

The Minister may by order approve, whether with or without amendment, any supplementary scheme if he is satisfied that it is expedient that the scheme should come into operation: Provided that the Minister before approving a supplementary scheme shall take steps to ascertain so far as practicable the views of any insured persons or employers affected thereby who in his opinion are not represented by the body submitting the scheme.

Subject to the provisions of this section, a supplementary scheme may—

A supplementary scheme may empower the body charged with the administration of the scheme to make, if the Minister so directs, such temporary modifications in any of the rates of contribution or the rates or periods of benefit under the scheme as are, in the opinion of the Minister, sufficient to secure the solvency of the fund constituted under the scheme.

No part of the funds required for providing benefits under a supplementary scheme or otherwise in connection therewith shall be derived from moneys provided by Parliament: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall prevent the making, in respect of persons whose remuneration is or may be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament, of a scheme whereunder contributions are payable by employers.

The provisions of this Act other than this section and section 47 thereof, and the provisions of any regulations, shall not, except in so far as they are applied by a supplementary scheme, apply to or have effect in relation to or for the purposes of the scheme.

Subject to the said section 47, a supplementary scheme when approved by the Minister shall continue in force until determined in accordance with the provisions thereof.

The Minister may by order—

An order under subsection (1) of this section with respect to any supplementary scheme may replace all or any of the provisions of the scheme (whether or not previously amended, varied or modified under that subsection) with new provisions consolidating those provisions as they are to have effect with the amendments, variations or modifications to be made by the order.

The Minister after consulting the body charged with the administration of a supplementary scheme may make an order under this subsection for the purpose of consolidating the provisions of the scheme as for the time being amended, varied or modified.

Any order made by virtue of subsection (2) or (3) of this section may revoke previous orders under this section relating to the scheme so far as they are superseded by the consolidation or have otherwise become obsolete or unnecessary.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section and to paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 11 to this Act, it shall be a condition of any person's right to any benefit that he makes a claim therefor in the prescribed manner.

Any claim for any benefit under this Act may be treated— and any claim for benefit under the Industrial Injuries Act or a payment under the Family Allowances Act may be treated for the purposes of this section as a claim, in the alternative, for such benefit under this Act as may be prescribed.

For the purposes of this Part of this Act any claim or notice made or sent by post shall be deemed to have been made or given on the day on which it was posted.

Except where regulations otherwise provide, a person shall be disqualified for receiving any benefit, and an increase of benefit shall not be payable in respect of any person as the beneficiary's wife or husband, for any period during which that person—

Regulations may provide for the suspension of payment to or in respect of any person during any such period as aforesaid of benefit which is excepted from the operation of subsection (1) of this section or which is payable otherwise than in respect of that period.

Regulations may provide for disqualifying a person— Provided that any such regulations shall provide for extending, subject to any prescribed conditions, the time within which the claim may be made or notice may be given in cases where good cause is shown for delay.

Notwithstanding any regulations made by virtue of the proviso to subsection (3) of this section, no sum shall be paid to any person— but regulations made by virtue of subsection (3)(a) of this section may vary or revoke the provisions of this subsection with respect to any benefit.

Subject to subsection (6) of this section, where it appears to the Minister that a question has arisen whether— he may direct that payment of the benefit shall be suspended in whole or in part until that question has been determined: Provided that this subsection shall not apply in any case where the question has arisen as to whether the claimant has ceased to be entitled to receive unemployment benefit by reason of any of the provisions of section 22(2)(b) to (e) of this Act.

Regulations may provide that subsection (5) of this section shall cease to apply to any case, or to cases of any specified description, to which it would otherwise apply, or shall apply to cases of any specified description to which it would not otherwise apply.

Without prejudice to paragraph 11 of Schedule 11 to this Act, regulations may provide—

Where but for regulations made by virtue of subsection (1)(a) of this section two persons would both be entitled to an increase of benefit in respect of a third person, regulations may make provision as to their priority.

Provision may be made by regulations as to the time and manner of payment of benefit, and as to the information and evidence to be furnished by beneficiaries when applying for payment, and regulations made jointly by the Minister and the Postmaster General may provide for payment through the Post Office.

Regulations made under this section as to the time of payment of benefit may provide—

Regulations may also provide—

Regulations under paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of this section may make provision with respect to claims for, and the payment of, death grant as if it were a benefit due to the deceased at his death and as if the references in that paragraph to creditors included a reference to any person who gives an undertaking in writing to pay the whole or part of the deceased's funeral expenses; and for the purposes of the said paragraph (b) the expression " next of kin" shall be construed as referring—

Where an employer has failed or neglected— and by reason thereof that person has lost, in whole or in part, any unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, or maternity benefit to which he or she would have been entitled, that person shall be entitled to recover summarily from the employer as a civil debt a sum equal to the amount of the benefit so lost.

Where the employed person is a man, his wife or widow shall have the same right to recover under the foregoing subsection in respect of maternity benefit lost by her as if the employer's failure or neglect had been in respect of her.

Proceedings may be taken under this section notwithstanding that proceedings have been taken under any other provision of this Act in respect of the same failure or neglect.

Proceedings under this section may, notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary, be brought at any time within one year after the date on which the employed person or his wife or widow, but for the failure or neglect of the employer, would have been entitled to receive the benefit lost.

In the application of subsection (1) of this section to Scotland, the word " summarily " shall be omitted.

Regulations may provide for determining the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be wholly or mainly maintaining, or to be contributing at any weekly rate to the maintenance of, another person or to be or have been contributing at any weekly rate to the cost of providing for a child.

Regulations under the foregoing subsection may provide, for the purpose of the provisions relating to an increase of benefit in respect of a wife or other adult dependant, that where— that person shall be deemed for the purpose of the said provisions to be wholly or mainly maintained by such of those beneficiaries as may be prescribed.

Regulations may provide for any sum or sums paid by a person by way of contribution towards either or both of the following, that is to say, the maintenance of his wife and the cost of providing for one or more children, to be treated for the purposes of section 38(c), 41(3), 42(1)(b) or 43(1)(a)(ii) of this Act as such contributions, of such respective amounts equal in the aggregate to the said sum or sums, in respect of such persons, as may be determined in accordance with the regulations so as to secure as large a payment as possible by way of benefit in respect of dependants.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, an employed contributor's employment shall, in relation to any person employed in it who is over the age of eighteen and under pensionable age, be a non-participating employment for any period during which— and an employment which is a non-participating employment in relation to a person employed in it immediately before he attains pensionable age shall, if the conditions of this Part of this Act other than paragraph (a) of this subsection are satisfied, continue to be a non-participating employment in relation to him so long as he continues to be employed in it and has not retired from regular employment.

Where a person is in the same contribution week employed both in a non-participating employment and in another employed contributor's employment, then unless provision to the contrary is made by regulations, any contribution payable by or in respect of him for that week under section 3 of this Act shall be payable at the rate appropriate to a non-participating employment.

Subject to paragraph 13 of Schedule 11 to this Act, where a person is in any income tax year employed both in a non-participating employment and in another employed contributor's employment, then any question as to the amount (if any) by which the graduated contributions paid by him in respect of remuneration paid in that year exceed the amount prescribed under section 4(4) of this Act shall be determined as if (in addition to those contributions) on the first day of any contribution week in which he was employed in a non-participating employment he had paid a graduated contribution in respect of a weekly payment of remuneration of eighteen pounds made on that day: Provided that if he is treated under section 58 of this Act as having on any such day paid a graduated contribution or part of one, this subsection shall treat him as paying on that day only such contribution (if any) as is necessary in order to make up the amount he is treated as having paid to that of such a graduated contribution as aforesaid.

For the purpose of determining liability to graduated contributions, an employment shall be deemed to be a non-participating employment in relation to a person previously (but no longer) employed in it if—

Regulations shall provide for the issue to employers of certificates specifying the employments which are to be treated either generally or in relation to any description of persons specified in the certificate as non-participating employments, and for the cancellation, variation or surrender of any certificate or issue of an amended certificate on any change of circumstances affecting the treatment of an employment as a non-participating employment, and (subject to the exclusion by subsection (1) of this section of persons under the age of eighteen or over pensionable age) any such certificate for the time being in force shall be conclusive that the employments included in it are non-participating employments: Provided that—

For the purposes of this Part of this Act, but subject to section 63(2) thereof and paragraph 14 of Schedule 11 thereto, equivalent pension benefits, in relation to any period of service in an employment, comprise, and comprise only, retirement benefits by way of pension as respects which the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—

Where service in an employment contingently qualifies a person employed in it for retirement benefits by way of pension, then, in determining whether the employment can be treated as a non-participating employment in relation to the persons from time to time so employed or any of them, a person's service shall be treated as qualifying him for such pension benefits, as, in the existing circumstances, can reasonably be expected to accrue to him from a period of service of appropriate length, on the assumption that he remains in an employment qualifying him for those benefits until pensionable age (or as near to that age as the terms of the employment allow) but no longer.

In determining whether an employment can be treated as a non-participating employment in a case where a limit on the maximum amount of the benefits payable or any description of them operates to prevent service beyond a given length from qualifying a person for further benefits, the qualification arising from any period of service shall be determined on the assumption that the total service does not exceed that length.

Any scheme or arrangement having for its object or one of its objects to make provision in respect of persons serving in particular employments for providing them with retirement benefits by way of pension shall be a recognised superannuation scheme for the purposes of this Part of this Act—

Where the date for a person's retirement on pension under a superannuation scheme is fixed by reference to his attaining pensionable age and so as to fall not later than six months after he does so, but does not depend solely on age, this section shall apply in relation to his benefits under that scheme as if he did not attain pensionable age before that date.

Except as provided by this section, section 58 of this Act shall apply whether a person's period of service in a non-participating employment comes to an end by reason of the termination of his service in that employment or by reason of the employment ceasing to be a non-participating employment, and, subject to any regulations under section 63(1) of this Act, where that period is brought to an end by an employer's death, shall apply as if it had come to an end immediately before the death.

For the purposes of the said section 58, if an employment becomes or ceases to be a non-participating employment in the course of a person's service in it, his service before and after the time when it does so shall be treated as service in different employments.

For the purposes of the said section 58, a person having at the end of his service in a non-participating employment equivalent pension benefits in respect of it shall be deemed to be assured of those benefits if, and shall be deemed not to be assured of them unless, either— and regulations may provide for treating as having effect from the end of a person's service in a non-participating employment any option exercised or other thing done within the prescribed period thereafter in relation to his retirement benefits in respect of it.

Provision may be made by regulations for excluding or restricting the liability to make payments in lieu of contributions in cases where a person serves at the same time in more than one employment, and for modifying the operation of any provision of this Act in relation to any such payment of which the amount is reduced by virtue of this subsection; and regulations may also modify the operation of subsection (4) of this section in cases where a person serves as aforesaid or would, apart from the regulations, be treated by virtue of that subsection as so serving.

Where an insured person's period of service in a non-participating employment comes to an end otherwise than by his death, and at the end of it he is over pensionable age, then for the purpose of any liability to make a payment in lieu of contributions in respect of that service he shall be deemed to be assured at the end of it (in lieu of any pension benefits he then has) of the same pension benefits, save as provided by regulations under subsection (3) of this section, as those of which he would have been assured on the coming to an end of the service on his attaining pensionable age by his then retiring from the employment; and any question whether those benefits are equivalent pension benefits, and any question as to the amount of, or as to the graduated contributions attributable to, any payment in lieu of contributions, shall be determined as if the service had come to an end by his so retiring: Provided that where the date for his retirement on pension under the recognised superannuation scheme relating to the employment is fixed by reference to his attaining that age and so as to fall not later than six months after he does so, but does not depend solely on age, this subsection shall apply as if he did not attain that age before that date.

A payment in lieu of contributions shall become due at such time as may be prescribed after the end of the period of service to which it relates ; and if any person fails to make at or within the time prescribed for the purpose any such payment for which he is liable, he shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished under section 8(2) of this Act as for a failure so to make payment of a contribution.

Section 14(1) of this Act shall apply to payments in lieu of contributions as it applies to contributions, and for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the said section 14(1) any such payment shall be deemed to be payable by an employer on behalf of the insured person in respect of whom it is payable.

Where on the coming to an end of an insured person's service in a non-participating employment— then, subject to the provisions of this section, the person liable for the payment in lieu of contributions shall be entitled on making that payment or any part of it to recover one half of the sum paid by him from the person liable for the refund : Provided that the amount recoverable shall not exceed the amount of the refund, or so much of it as has not been made.

Where the period taken into account in fixing the amount of a payment does not coincide with that in respect of which the refund is to be made, then (subject to subsection (3) of this section) the amount recoverable under this section shall be determined by reference to so much of the payment and of the refund as are referable to the same period.

The amount which may be recovered under this section in respect of any payment in lieu of contributions shall be increased by such amount as may be prescribed where—

Where the person liable for the payment in lieu of contributions is himself liable for the refund, he shall be entitled to retain out of the refund the amount which he could recover under this section from another person who was liable for the refund.

The amount of the refund shall be reduced by any amount recovered or retained under this section; and provision shall be made by regulations for requiring the making of refunds to be delayed for the purpose of enabling any right of recovery conferred by this section to be exercised, and shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any enactment relating to the making of the refund.

Where on the coming to an end of an insured person's service in a non-participating employment— then in respect of that payment the person liable for it shall have the like right of recovery from that refund (so far as the payment is not recoverable out of a refund in respect of a later employment) as a person has under the foregoing provisions of this section where a payment in lieu of contributions and a refund fall to be made on the coming to an end of service in the employment in respect of which the refund is to be made; and subsection (5) of this section shall apply accordingly.

Notwithstanding any contract to the contrary, a person shall not be entitled to recover any part of a payment in lieu of contributions made or to be made by him from the person in respect of whom it is payable or, except in accordance with this section, out of any moneys payable to or for the benefit of that person.

There shall be included among the debts which— any payment in lieu of contributions payable on the termination of a person's employment before or by the effect of the receiving order or death, the award of sequestration, the winding-up order or resolution, or the appointment of the receiver or taking of possession, as the case may be: Provided that, where any such payment is payable in respect of a period of service of more than a year, the amount to be so paid in priority shall be limited to the amount of the payment in lieu of contributions which would have been payable if the service had been confined to the last year taken into account in fixing the actual amount of the payment.

Where— then that other person shall be liable for any part of the payment in lieu of contributions for the time being unpaid: Provided that no person shall be liable by virtue of this subsection for an amount in excess of the sum which might be recovered from him as aforesaid if the payment in lieu of contributions had been paid in full by the employer, after deducting from that sum any. amount which has been or may be recovered from him in respect of any part of that payment paid otherwise than under this subsection.

The payment under subsection (2) of this section of any amount in respect of a payment in lieu of contributions shall have the same effect upon the rights and liabilities of the person making it (other than his liabilities under that subsection) as if it had been a payment of that amount on account of the sum recoverable from him in respect of that payment in lieu of contributions as mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection.

In relation to employments of any class to which this section applies, the appropriate Minister may by regulations direct that elections with a view to the issue, variation, cancellation or surrender of certificates under this Part of this Act shall be made and revoked by him instead of by the employer.

Any such regulations may also make provision for other things which by or under this Part of this Act are required or authorised to be done by or to the employer to be done instead by or to the appropriate Minister, for treating employments of the class in question as employments under a single employer different from the employer in any other employment, and for the recovery from the employer of payments in lieu of contributions made by the appropriate Minister instead of by the employer.

Before making any regulations under this section the appropriate Minister shall consult with such bodies concerned with employments of the class in question as appear to him fairly to represent the interests of employers and employed persons in those employments.

Subject to subsections (5) and (6) of this section, the employments in which a person's service qualifies him for retirement benefits by way of pension under the enactments specified in any entry in Schedule 5 to this Act shall constitute a class to which this section applies, and in relation to that class the appropriate Minister shall be the Minister mentioned in the second column in that entry.

Where service in any employment would qualify a person as aforesaid under the enactments specified in any such entry but for rules having effect under section 2 of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1948 (which relates to persons transferring to or from certain employments), the employment shall be treated as falling within the class to which that entry relates, and as not falling within any other class to which this section applies.

Where a local Act contains a provision for the payment of retirement benefits by way of pension for service which, but for the provision, would qualify a person for such benefits under the enactments specified in any entry in Schedule 5 to this Act, that provision shall be deemed to be included among the enactments specified in that entry.

Provision may for the purposes of this Part of this Act be made by regulations—

Regulations may, in order to facilitate the computations needed to ascertain equivalent pension benefits for the purposes of section 58 or any other provision of this Act, convert the formula in section 57(1)(d) of this Act, as respects service before or service after 5th January 1964, or as respects both kinds of service, into a formula expressed in terms— adjusting the figures so as to admit of tabulation and so as to avoid fractional amounts or otherwise facilitate computation, and making special provision for a period of service which does not amount to a whole number of weeks and for a week of service which includes 5th January 1964.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any question arising under this Act— shall be determined by the Minister; and a decision of the Minister on any question such as is mentioned in paragraph (d) of this subsection may be given so as to have effect with respect to a period before the date of the decision.

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply—

The Minister may, if he thinks fit, before determining any question such as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c) of this section, appoint a person to hold an inquiry into the question or any matters arising in connection therewith and to report to him thereon.

Any question of law arising in connection with the determination by the Minister of any question such as is mentioned in section 64(1)(a) to (c) of this Act may, if the Minister thinks fit, be referred for decision to the High Court.

In the event of the Minister determining in accordance with subsection (1) of this section to refer any question of law to the High Court, he shall send notice in writing of his intention so to do to the applicant and to any other person appearing to him to be interested therein.

Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Minister on any question of law such as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section which is not referred in accordance with that subsection may appeal from that decision to the High Court.

The Minister shall be entitled to appear and be heard on any such reference or appeal as aforesaid.

The provision made by rules of court shall include provision for regulating references and appeals to the High Court under this section and for limiting the time within which such appeals may be brought.

So much of section 63(1) of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925 as requires an appeal from any person to the High Court to be heard and determined by a divisional court shall not apply to appeals under this section.

Notwithstanding anything in any Act, the decision of the High Court on a reference or appeal under this section shall be final, and on any such reference or appeal the court may order the Minister to pay the costs of any other person, whether or not the decision is in that other person's favour and whether or not the Minister appears on the reference or appeal.

In the application of this section to Scotland—

The Minister may, on new facts being brought to his notice, or if he is satisfied that the decision was given in ignorance of, or was based on a mistake as to, some material fact, review any decision given by him on any question such as is mentioned in section 64(1)(a) to (c) of this Act: Provided that any such decision shall not be reviewed while an appeal under section 65 of this Act is pending against the decision of the Minister on a question of law arising in connection therewith, or before the time for so appealing has expired ; and the said section 65 shall apply with any necessary modifications to any case in which a question has been raised with a view to the review under this subsection of any such decision as aforesaid.

The Minister may at any time and from time to time reconsider the exercise of his discretion with respect to any question such as is mentioned in section 64(1)(d) of this Act and decide that question again with such other effect as may seem to him to be proper in the circumstances of the case.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any question arising under this Act— shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of sections 68 to 72 of this Act by an insurance officer, a local tribunal constituted under section 77 of this Act or the National Insurance Commissioner.

Subsection (1)(a) of this section shall not apply to any question to which section 64(1) or 74(1) of this Act applies.

Insurance officers for the purposes of this Act shall be appointed by the Minister, subject to the consent of the Treasury as to number, to act for such areas or otherwise as the Minister directs, and may include officers of the Ministry of Labour appointed with the concurrence of the Minister of Labour and officers of the National Assistance Board appointed with the concurrence of that Board.

Any claim for benefit under this Act and any question to which section 67(1) of this Act applies shall be submitted forthwith to an insurance officer, who shall take the claim or question into consideration and, so far as practicable, dispose of it in accordance with this section and any regulations under section 75(2) of this Act within fourteen days of its submission to him.

Subject to section 71 of this Act, the insurance officer may in the case of any claim or question so submitted to him—

Where an insurance officer refers a case to a local tribunal in accordance with subsection (3)(c) of this section, notice in writing of the reference shall be given to the claimant.

Different aspects of the same claim or question may be submitted to different insurance officers under the foregoing provisions of this section, and for that purpose those provisions and the other provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to the determination of claims and questions shall have effect subject to any necessary modifications.

Where the insurance officer has decided any claim or question adversely to the claimant, the claimant may appeal to a local tribunal, and the claimant shall be notified in writing of the decision and the reasons therefor and of his right of appeal under this section: Provided that where any question to which section 64(1) of this Act applies has arisen in connection with the decision of the insurance officer, and has been determined, and the insurance officer certifies that the decision on that question is the sole ground of his decision, no appeal shall lie without leave of the chairman of the local tribunal.

An appeal against a decision of an insurance officer shall be brought by giving notice of appeal at a local office within twenty-one days after the date of that decision or within such further time as the chairman of the local tribunal may for good cause allow.

A notice of appeal under this section shall be in writing and shall contain a statement of the grounds upon which the appeal is made.

In this and the next following section, the expression "local office" means any office appointed by the Minister as a local office for the purposes of this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this section, an appeal shall lie to the National Insurance Commissioner from any decision of a local tribunal at the instance of—

An appeal to the Commissioner must be brought within three months from the date of the decision of the local tribunal, or such further period as the Commissioner may in any case for special reasons allow, and such an appeal shall be brought by giving notice in writing in a form approved by the Minister stating the grounds of the appeal—

If it appears to the Commissioner that any appeal under this section involves a question of law of special difficulty, he may direct that the appeal shall be dealt with, not by the Commissioner alone, but by a tribunal consisting of any three of the Commissioner and the deputy Commissioners appointed under section 78 of this Act; and if the decision of any such tribunal is not unanimous, the decision of the majority shall be the decision of the tribunal.

If it appears to the Commissioner that any appeal under this section involves a question of fact of special difficulty, the Commissioner may direct that in dealing with the appeal or any part thereof he shall have the assistance of an assessor or assessors specially qualified and selected from a panel appointed for that purpose.

The Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, refer any question arising for his decision to a registered medical practitioner for examination and report.

Subsection (1) of this section shall apply to a local tribunal and the Commissioner as it applies to an insurance officer, except that a local tribunal or the Commissioner, instead of themselves or himself referring a question in accordance with subsection (1)(a) of this section, shall direct it to be so referred by an insurance officer.

Any decision under sections 67 to 70 of this Act of an insurance officer, a local tribunal or the National Insurance Commissioner may be reviewed at any time by an insurance officer or, on a reference from an insurance officer, by a local tribunal, if—

A question may be raised with a view to such a review as aforesaid by means of an application in writing to an insurance officer, stating the grounds of the application.

On receipt of any such application, the insurance officer shall proceed to deal with or refer any question arising thereon in accordance with the provisions of the said sections 67 to 70.

Any decision given on a review under this section, and any refusal to review a decision under this section, shall be subject to appeal in like manner as an original decision, and the provisions of the said sections 67 to 70 shall, subject to the necessary modifications, apply in relation to any decision given on such a review as they apply to the original decision of a question.

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 64 to 72 but subject to any other provision of this Act, in the case of any question arising under or in connection with this Act, including any claim for benefit, other than a question such as is mentioned in section 64(1)(d) of this Act, provision may be made by regulations for the determination of that question by the Minister or by a person or tribunal appointed or constituted in accordance with the regulations; and any such regulations may vary or revoke the provisions of sections 64, 65(1) to (4), 66 to 72 and 77 of this Act so far as they relate to any question to which the regulations relate.

As respects any question as to the right to benefit other than such a question as is mentioned in section 64(1) or 74(1) of this Act and other than a question as to entitlement to a death grant, regulations under subsection (1) of this section shall not provide for the determination of that question by the Minister but, subject to subsection (3) of this section, shall provide—

Regulations made by virtue of subsection (2) of this section may provide for the submission of different aspects of the same question to different officers; and for that purpose paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection shall have effect subject to the necessary modifications.

Regulations under subsection (1) of this section may provide for the reference to the High Court for decision of any question of law arising in connection with the determination of a question by the Minister, and for appeals to the High Court from the decision of the Minister on any such question of law; and subsections (5) to (8) of section 65 of this Act shall apply to any reference or appeal under this subsection as they apply to any reference or appeal under subsections (1) to (3) of that section.

In the application of subsection (4) of this section to Scotland, for references to the High Court there shall be substituted references to the Court of Session.

Regulations under section 73(1) of this Act shall provide—

Regulations may also make provision for any incidental matters connected with the operation of the provisions of this Act relating to non-participating employments, including the information which may be required from any person, and in particular shall provide—

Any appointment for the purposes of Part III of this Act of an adjudicator, as required by subsection (1) of this section, shall be made by the Lord Chancellor, after consultation, if the person appointed is an advocate, with the Lord President of the Court of Session.

Subject to the provisions of sections 64 to 72 of this Act, the decision of any claim or question in accordance with those provisions, and, subject to the provisions of any regulations under section 73 of this Act, the decision of any claim or question in accordance with the provisions of those regulations, shall be final.

Subject to the other provisions of this Part of this Act, regulations may, in relation to the determination of claims or questions in accordance with sections 64 to 72 or with regulations under section 73 of this Act, include provision— and except so far as it may be applied in relation to England and Wales by regulations made by virtue of this subsection the Arbitration Act 1950 shall not apply to any proceedings under sections 64 to 74 of this Act.

It is hereby declared that the power to prescribe procedure includes power to make provision as to the representation of one person, at any hearing of a case, by another person whether having professional qualifications or not.

Where any question such as is mentioned in subsection (3) of this section arises with respect to benefit under this Act (other than such a question as is mentioned in section 64(1)(d) thereof), that question shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of sections 67 to 73 of this Act in like manner, subject to any prescribed modifications and adaptations, as a corresponding question arising in respect of an allowance under the Family Allowances Act falls to be determined by virtue of section 5(2) of that Act.

Any decision of any question such as is mentioned in subsection (3)(a) to (c) of this section given under this Part of this Act, whether given for the purposes of this Act, the Industrial Injuries Act or the Family Allowances Act, shall have effect also for the purposes of the others of those Acts.

The questions referred to in subsections (1) and (2) of this section are questions—

A local tribunal for the purposes of sections 67 to 72 of this Act shall consist of—

The panels referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be constituted by the Minister for the whole of Great Britain, and each panel shall relate to such area as the Minister thinks fit, and be composed of such persons as the Minister sees fit to appoint.

Before appointing members to either of the panels, the Minister may take into consideration any recommendation from a local advisory committee constituted under section 89 of this Act or from any other local committee representing employers or insured persons or both, or from organisations concerned with the interests of employers or insured persons, including friendly societies or organisations representative of friendly societies.

The members of the panels shall hold office for such period as the Minister may direct: Provided that the Minister may at any time terminate the appointment of any member of a panel.

So far as practicable, each member of a panel shall be summoned to serve in turn upon a local tribunal: Provided that—

Any case may, with the consent of the claimant but not otherwise, be proceeded with in the absence of any member of the local tribunal other than the chairman, and in any such case the tribunal shall be deemed to be properly constituted and the chairman shall, if the number of the members of the tribunal is an even number, have a second or casting vote.

A person appointed to act as chairman of a local tribunal shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of his letter of appointment.

Where several persons are appointed to act as chairmen for a particular area they shall as far as practicable be invited to preside over a tribunal in turn: Provided that this subsection shall not apply to a person expressly appointed to serve as a substitute when some other person may be unwilling or unable to act.

The National Insurance Commissioner shall be appointed by Her Majesty, and Her Majesty may appoint for the purposes of this Act such number of deputy Commissioners as Her Majesty thinks fit.

The Commissioner and deputy Commissioners shall be barristers or advocates of not less than ten years' standing.

Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to the National Insurance Commissioner shall include a reference to a deputy Commissioner and to any tribunal constituted under section 70(3) of this Act.

Without prejudice to the pension benefits conferred by the Administration of Justice (Pensions) Act 1950, the Minister may from time to time recommend to the Treasury that there shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to the National Insurance Commissioner or any deputy Commissioner appointed under section 78 of this Act an annual sum by way of superannuation allowance calculated in accordance with Schedule 6 to this Act if either—

For the purposes of the foregoing subsection and the said Schedule 6—

The decision of the Treasury shall be final on any question arising as to—

Where the rate of the superannuation allowance payable to any person under subsection (1) of this section as National Insurance Commissioner or deputy Commissioner is or would be increased by virtue of regulations made under subsection (2)(c) of this section in respect of service in some other capacity, and a pension payable to him wholly in respect of service in that other capacity would have been paid and borne otherwise than out of moneys provided by Parliament, any pension benefits paid to or in respect of him as having been Commissioner or deputy Commissioner shall, to such extent as the Treasury may determine, having regard to the relative length of service and rate of remuneration in each capacity, be paid and borne in like manner as that in which a pension payable to him wholly in respect of service in that other capacity would have been paid and borne.

In this section, the expression " pension" includes any superannuation or other retiring allowance or gratuity, and the expression " pensionable " shall be construed accordingly, and the expression " pension benefits " includes benefits payable on retirement or death by way of lump sum or gratuity, and benefits payable in respect of a person's service or employment to other persons by way of widow's or orphan's pension or otherwise.

The Minister shall pay to the National Insurance Commissioner and any deputy Commissioner appointed under this Act such salary or other remuneration as the Treasury may determine and such expenses incurred in connection with the work of the Commissioner, a deputy Commissioner or any tribunal presided over by the Commissioner or a deputy Commissioner as may be so determined.

The Minister may pay— as the Minister with the consent of the Treasury may determine.

The Minister may pay to any person required under this Act (whether for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act or otherwise) to attend for or to submit himself to medical or other examination or treatment such travelling and other allowances as the Minister with the consent of the Treasury may determine.

In this section references to travelling and other allowances include references to compensation for loss of remunerative time : Provided that such compensation shall not be paid to any person in respect of any time during which he is in receipt of remuneration under this section.

Where benefit is or has been paid in pursuance of a decision which is reversed or varied on appeal, or is revised on a review, then, subject to subsection (2) of this section, the decision given on the appeal or review shall require repayment to the National Insurance Fund of any benefit paid in pursuance of the original decision to the extent to which it—

A decision given on appeal or review shall not require repayment of benefit paid in pursuance of the original decision in any case where it is shown to the satisfaction of the person or tribunal determining the appeal or review that in the obtaining and receipt of the benefit the beneficiary, and any person acting for him, has throughout used due care and diligence to avoid overpayment.

Regulations may make provision as respects matters arising—

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) of this section, regulations thereunder may include provision—

Where in the case of any sums paid by way of benefit before 26th February 1962— any question arising on the appeal or review under this Act as to the repayment of those sums or that part of them shall be determined in accordance with the provisions as to repayment in force immediately before that date.

Where, in the case of any person, any sum may by virtue of regulations under subsection (3) of this section be recovered by deduction from benefit under this Act, it may instead be recovered from him in whole or in part by deduction from any payment under the Industrial Injuries Act, and any amount so recovered shall be paid to the National Insurance Fund.

Regulations may provide for unemployment benefit of which repayment is required by virtue of subsection (1) of this section to be repaid to or through a local education authority administering unemployment benefit by virtue of section 11 of the Employment and Training Act 1948.

The provisions of Schedule 7 to this Act shall have effect to enable sums paid by way of benefit under this Act or the Industrial Injuries Act or by way of family allowance, and afterwards found not to have been payable, to be treated as paid on account of any sums properly payable to the same person by way of such a benefit or allowance, or to be treated as properly paid, and to provide for matters arising out of their being so treated.

Nothing in this Act shall prejudice the provisions of sections 13 and 14 of the National Assistance Act 1948 with respect to the abatement of payments in respect of arrears of benefit.

The National Insurance Fund shall continue to be maintained under the control and management of the Minister, and—

Where, under any enactment or otherwise, payments fall to be made by way of adjustment between the National Insurance Fund and the Industrial Injuries Fund, then, in such cases or classes of case as the Minister may with the consent of the Treasury determine, the amount due from either of those Funds to the other shall be taken to be such as may be so determined and payments on account thereof shall be made at such times and in such manner as the Minister may with the like consent direct.

Where in the opinion of the Minister any of the assets referred to in subsection (1)(c) of this section which for the time being form part of the assets of the National Insurance Fund are unsuitable for retention as assets of that Fund, they may be sold or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine.

Accounts of the National Insurance Fund shall be prepared in such form, in such manner and at such times as the Treasury may direct, and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every such account and shall lay copies thereof, together with his report thereon, before Parliament.

Any moneys forming part of the National Insurance Fund may from time to time be paid over to the National Debt Commissioners and by them invested, in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Treasury, in any securities which are for the time being authorised by Parliament as investments for savings banks funds.

The National Debt Commissioners shall present to Parliament annually an account of the securities in which moneys forming part of the National Insurance Fund are for the time being invested.

The National Insurance (Reserve) Fund shall continue to be maintained under the control and management of the Minister as a reserve for the National Insurance Fund.

Section 83(3) to (6) of this Act shall apply to the National Insurance (Reserve) Fund as they apply to the National Insurance Fund.

Any sums determined by the Treasury to be income of the National Insurance (Reserve) Fund shall be paid into the National Insurance Fund.

Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, a payment out of the National Insurance (Reserve) Fund shall not be made otherwise than under the authority of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament and shall be made subject to such conditions as to repayment or otherwise as may be specified in the resolution.

There may be transferred from time to time from the National Insurance Fund to the National Insurance (Reserve) Fund such assets as the Minister, with the approval of the Treasury, may determine.

Without prejudice to subsection (4) of this section, any expenses incurred by the Minister or any other government department (except the Postmaster General) in carrying this Act into effect, including— shall, unless required by or under some provision of this Act to be paid and borne in some other manner, be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

The Minister shall from time to time pay to the Postmaster General as part of the expenses of the Minister in carrying into effect the following enactments respectively, that is to say— sums of such amounts as may be agreed between the Minister and the Postmaster General for work done by the Postmaster General in the execution of the said enactments; and any sums so paid shall, where necessary for the purpose of determining what part of those sums should be attributed to each respectively of those enactments, be apportioned between them in such manner as may be determined by the Minister in accordance with any directions given by the Treasury.

Without prejudice to any right of recovery or retainer under this Act, any expenses of a Minister of the Crown in making under section 62 of this Act payments in lieu of contributions shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament ; and any sums recovered or retained by a Minister of the Crown in respect of any such payments shall be paid into the Exchequer.

There shall be paid to the Treasury out of the National Insurance Fund, at such times and in such manner as the Treasury may direct, such sum as the Minister may estimate in accordance with subsections (5) to (7) of this section and with directions given by the Treasury to be the amount of the expenses incurred as mentioned in subsection (1) thereof.

Subject to subsections (6) and (7) of this section, in estimating for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section the expenses incurred as mentioned in subsection (1) thereof there shall be included—

There shall be left out of account in estimating for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section the expenses incurred as mentioned in subsection (1) thereof—

There shall be left out of account for the purposes of subsections (1) and (4) of this section any expenses, or amounts which under subsection (5) of this section would otherwise fall to be included in estimating expenses, in so far as they are treated—

In subsection (2) of this section, the references to this Act, the Industrial Injuries Act and the Family Allowances Act shall (except so far as otherwise provided, whether expressly or by implication) respectively include references to any enactments which, under any Act passed after this Act, are included in any citation which uses the phrase " the National Insurance Acts ", " the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Acts " or " the Family Allowances Acts ", as the case may be; and in subsections (5)(a) and (6)(b) of this section, the expression pension benefits " includes benefits payable on retirement or death by way of lump sum or gratuity, and benefits payable in respect of a person's service or employment to other persons by way of widow's or orphan's pension or otherwise.

The Government Actuary shall— Provided that the Treasury may at any time direct that the period to be covered by a review and report under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be reduced and that the making of that and subsequent reviews and reports under that paragraph shall be accelerated accordingly, and may dispense with the making of a review and report under paragraph (b) thereof in any year.

The Treasury shall lay before Parliament a copy of every report made to them under this section.

Any function under this section of the Government Actuary may be performed by the Deputy Government Actuary.

As soon as may be after a copy of any report under section 86(1)(a) of this Act is laid before Parliament, the Minister shall review the rates and amounts of benefit in relation to—

On the completion of any review under this section the Minister shall lay a report thereon before Parliament.

There shall be a committee, which shall be known as the National Insurance Advisory Committee, to give advice and assistance to the Minister in connection with the discharge of his functions under this Act and to perform any other duties allotted to them under this Act.

The provisions of Schedule 8 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution of the said Committee and other matters relating to the Committee.

The Minister may from time to time refer to the said Committee for consideration and advice such questions relating to the operation of this Act as he thinks fit (including questions as to the advisability of amending this Act).

The Minister shall furnish the said Committee with such information as they may reasonably require for the proper discharge of their functions under this Act.

Regulations may provide for the reference to local committees representing employers or insured persons or both, for consideration and advice, of questions bearing upon the administration of this Act, and for the payment by the Minister to the members of any such committee, and to persons attending its meetings at the request of the committee, of such expenses and travelling and other allowances (including compensation for loss of remunerative time) as the Minister with the consent of the Treasury may determine.

The persons selected as members of any such committee may include persons put forward by organisations concerned with the interests of employers or insured persons, including friendly societies or organisations representative of friendly societies.

For the purposes of this Act, the Minister may appoint such inspectors as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine, and pay to them such salaries or remuneration as may be so determined.

An inspector appointed under this Act, shall for the purposes of the execution of this Act, have power to do all or any of the following things, namely—

The occupier of any premises or place liable to inspection under this section, and any person who is or has been employing any person, and the servants and agents of any such occupier or other person, and any insured person, shall furnish to an inspector all such information and produce for inspection all such documents as the inspector may reasonably require for the purpose of ascertaining whether contributions are or have been payable, or have been duly paid, by or in respect of any person, or whether benefit is or was payable to or in respect of any person.

If any person— he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds in the case of a first offence under this subsection and not exceeding fifty pounds in the case of a second or subsequent such offence: Provided that no one shall be required under this section to answer any questions or to give any evidence tending to incriminate himself.

For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, an offence shall be deemed not to be a first offence if the offender has previously been found guilty of an offence under section 64(4) of the Industrial Injuries Act or under section 49(4) of the Act of 1946 or section 62(4) of the Industrial Injuries Act of 1946.

Every inspector shall be furnished with a certificate of his appointment, and on applying for admission to any premises or place for the purposes of this Act shall, if so required, produce the said certificate.

The premises and places liable to inspection under this section are any premises or places where an inspector appointed under this Act has reasonable ground for supposing that any persons are employed, except that they do not include any private dwelling-house not used by or by permission of the occupier for the purposes of a trade or business.

Where any premises or place are or is liable to be inspected by an inspector or officer appointed or employed by, or are or is under the control of, some other government department, the Minister may make arrangements with that department for any of the powers or duties of inspectors under this section being carried out by an inspector or officer employed by that department, and, where such an arrangement is made, such inspectors or officers shall have all the powers of an inspector under this section.

Regulations made by the Registrar General under section 20 of the Registration Service Act 1953 may provide for the furnishing by superintendent registrars and registrars, subject to the payment of such fee as may be prescribed by the regulations, of such information for the purposes of this Act, including copies or extracts from the registers in their custody, as may be so prescribed.

Where the age, marriage or death of a person is required to be ascertained or proved for the purposes of this Act, any person shall— be entitled to obtain a copy, certified under the hand of the custodian, of the entry of those particulars.

Requisitions for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may from time to time be specified by the Registrar General, and suitable forms thereof shall, on request, be supplied without charge by every superintendent registrar and registrar.

In the application of this section to England and Wales, the expression " Registrar General" means the Registrar General for England and Wales, and the expressions " superintendent registrar" and "registrar" mean a superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, registrar for the purposes of the enactments relating to the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

In the application of this section to Scotland—

If any person— he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.

Regulations may provide for the recovery on summary conviction of monetary penalties in respect of any offence under this Act, being a contravention of or failure to comply with regulations, so, however, that such penalties shall not exceed ten pounds for each offence or, where the offence consists of continuing any such contravention or failure after conviction thereof, ten pounds together with a further ten pounds for each day on which it is so continued.

Where an offence under this Act which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any negligence on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

In this section the expression " insurance card " means any card issued under regulations for the purpose of the payment of contributions by affixing insurance stamps thereto ; and in any proceedings under subsection (1) of this section with respect to used stamps, a stamp shall be deemed to have been used if it has been affixed to an insurance card or cancelled or defaced in any way whatsoever and whether it has actually been used for the purpose of payment of a contribution or not.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the Minister from recovering by means of civil proceedings any sums due to the National Insurance Fund.

Proceedings in England or Wales for an offence under this Act shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Minister or by an inspector or other officer authorised in that behalf by special or general directions of the Minister.

Any such inspector or other officer may, although not of counsel or a solicitor, prosecute or conduct before a magistrates' court any such proceedings as aforesaid.

Notwithstanding any provision in any Act prescribing the period within which summary proceedings may be commenced, proceedings for an offence under this Act may be commenced at any time within the period of three months from the date on which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the Minister to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to his knowledge, or within the period of twelve months after the commission of the offence, whichever period last expires.

For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, a certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Minister as to the date on which such evidence as aforesaid came to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence thereof.

In the application of subsection (3) of this section to Scotland, the reference to evidence sufficient to justify a prosecution shall be construed as a reference to evidence sufficient to justify a report to the Lord Advocate with a view to consideration of the question of prosecution.

In any proceedings for an offence under this Act, the wife or husband of the accused shall be competent to give evidence, whether for or against the accused: Provided that the wife or husband shall not be compellable either to give evidence or, in giving evidence, to disclose any communication made to her or him by the accused during the marriage.

In any case where an employer or an insured person has been convicted of the offence under section 8(2) of this Act of failing to pay a contribution at or within the time prescribed for the purpose and the contribution remains unpaid at the date of the conviction, he shall be liable to pay to the National Insurance Fund a sum equal to the amount which he failed to pay.

In any case where— he shall be. liable to pay to the National Insurance Fund a sum equal to the amount of that contribution.

On any such conviction as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, if notice of intention to do so has been served with the summons or warrant, evidence may be given— and on proof of such failure the employer or the insured person shall be liable to pay to the National Insurance Fund or, as the case may require, the Industrial Injuries Fund or each such Fund, a sum equal to the total of all the contributions under this Act or, as the case may be, the Industrial Injuries Act which he is so proved to have failed to pay and which remain unpaid at the date of the conviction.

Where in England or Wales an employer or an insured person charged with such an offence as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) of this section is convicted of that offence in his absence under section 1(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1957, then if— the said subsection (3) shall have effect as if the evidence had been given and the failure so admitted had been proved, and the court shall proceed accordingly.

Where an employer or an insured person is convicted of any such offence as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, and an order is made under Part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1948 placing the offender on probation or discharging him absolutely or conditionally, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as if the conviction were deemed to be a conviction for all purposes.

In England or Wales, any sum ordered to be paid to the National Insurance Fund or the Industrial Injuries Fund under this section shall be recoverable as a penalty.

Any sum paid under the foregoing provisions of this section shall be treated as a payment in satisfaction of the unpaid contributions and no part of any such sum paid by an employer shall be recoverable by him from the insured person in respect of whom it is paid.

If the employer, being a body corporate, fails to pay to the National Insurance Fund or the Industrial Injuries Fund any sum which the employer has been ordered to pay under this section, that sum, or such part thereof as remains unpaid, shall be a debt due to the National Insurance Fund or the Industrial Injuries Fund, as the case may be, jointly and severally from any directors of the body corporate who knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, of the failure to pay the contribution or contributions in question.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the recovery of any sums due to the National Insurance Fund or the Industrial Injuries Fund by means of civil proceedings.

In this section, references to contributions include references to payments under section 58 of this Act in lieu of contributions and, except in subsections (1) and (2)—

In its application to Scotland, this section shall have effect as if—

Regulations may make other provision for the recovery, on prosecutions brought under or by virtue of this Act, of such contributions as are referred to in this section, and any such regulations may vary or revoke any of the foregoing provisions of this section; and nothing in this section shall prejudice any other remedy for a failure to pay any such contribution.

All sums due to the National Insurance Fund shall be recoverable as debts due to the Crown, and without prejudice to any other remedy may be recovered by the Minister summarily as a civil debt.

Proceedings for the summary recovery as civil debts of sums due to the National Insurance Fund may, notwithstanding anything in any Act to the contrary, be brought at any time within three years from the time when the matter complained of arose.

Proceedings for the summary recovery as civil debts of sums due to the National Insurance Fund may be instituted by an inspector or other officer authorised in that behalf by special or general directions of the Minister, and any such inspector or officer may, although not of counsel or a solicitor, conduct such proceedings.

In the application of this section to Scotland—

Where in any proceedings— any question arises such as is mentioned in section 64(1)(a) to (c) of this Act, then, unless an appeal therefrom under section 65 of this Act is pending, or the time for so appealing has not expired, or a question has been raised with a view to a review of the Minister's decision, the decision of the Minister shall be conclusive for the purpose of those proceedings.

If the decision of any such question is necessary for the determination of the proceedings, and the decision of the Minister has not been obtained or a question has been raised with a view to a review of the decision obtained, the question shall be referred to the Minister for determination or review in accordance (subject to any necessary modifications) with Part IV of this Act.

Where any such appeal as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section is pending, or the time for so appealing has not expired, or where any question so mentioned has been referred to the Minister, the court dealing with the case shall adjourn the proceedings until such time as a final decision upon the question has been obtained.

Regulations with respect to such questions arising in such proceedings as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section may vary or revoke any of the foregoing provisions of this section.

Subject to any prescribed exceptions, any person who, being over school leaving age and under pensionable age, is serving as a member of any of the regular naval, military or air forces of the Crown shall, notwithstanding that he does not fulfil the conditions of section 1 of this Act, be an insured person, and any such person while he is serving as aforesaid shall, in respect of his membership of those forces, be an employed person.

Without prejudice to the generality of any other power to make regulations, the Minister may make regulations modifying in such manner, subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, as he thinks proper the provisions of this Act in their application in relation to persons who are or have been members of any of Her Majesty's forces.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, regulations thereunder may in particular provide—

For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, any prescribed organisation in which persons serve under the control of the Defence Council shall be deemed to form part of Her Majesty's forces.

Without prejudice to the generality of any other power to make regulations, the Minister may make regulations modifying in such manner as he thinks proper the provisions of this Act in their application in relation to persons who are or have been employed on board any ship, vessel or aircraft.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations thereunder may in particular provide—

The contribution, if any, payable by an employer— shall not be taken into account for the purpose of estimating the contributions to be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament, and shall be administered and applied in such manner and for such purposes as may be prescribed.

Without prejudice to the generality of any other power to make regulations, the Minister may make regulations modifying in such manner, subject to the following provisions of this section, as he thinks proper the provisions of this Act in their application in relation to married women, and in relation to women who have been married: Provided that, save as expressly authorised by the following provisions of this section, regulations thereunder shall not modify any provision of this Act which has any special application in relation to a married woman or widow as such.

Regulations under this section shall provide, subject to any prescribed conditions and exceptions, for excepting a woman, if she so elects or if she does not elect otherwise (as may be provided by the regulations) from liability to pay contributions under section 3 of this Act as an insured person for any period during which she is married.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations thereunder may in particular provide—

Without prejudice to the generality of any other power to make regulations, the Minister may make regulations modifying in such manner, subject to subsection (2) of this section, as he thinks proper the provisions of this Act in their application in relation to persons who are or have been outside Great Britain while insured under this Act.

Regulations under this section shall provide that, where an insured person is throughout any contribution week outside Great Britain and is not in that week an employed person, he shall not be liable to pay any contribution as an insured person for that week.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations thereunder may in particular make provision for entitling a person to pay a contribution as a non-employed person, or, if the regulations so provide, as a self-employed person, for any week for which by virtue of subsection (2) of this section he is not liable to pay a contribution as an insured person.

The Minister may, with the consent of the Treasury, make reciprocal arrangements with the appropriate Northern Irish authority for coordinating the two systems of insurance provided for respectively by this Act and any legislation for similar purposes passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland so as to secure that they operate, to such extent as may be provided by the arrangements, as a single system.

There shall be a Joint Authority (hereafter in this Act referred to as " the Joint Authority ") consisting of the Minister and of the appropriate Northern Irish authority, and the Joint Authority shall have power, in connection with the arrangements aforesaid—

The provisions of Schedule 10 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution of the Joint Authority and other matters relating thereto.

The Minister may make regulations for giving effect in Great Britain to any such arrangements, and any such regulations may provide—

In connection with any such legislation as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, any limitation of the powers of the Parliament of Northern Ireland imposed by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 shall not apply in so far as it would preclude that Parliament from enacting a provision corresponding to some provision of this Act, other than section 99 thereof.

For the purpose of giving effect to any agreement with the government of any country outside the United Kingdom providing for reciprocity in matters relating to payments in respect of interruption of employment by unemployment, sickness or otherwise, or payments in respect of the confinement of women, widowhood, orphanhood, retirement, old age or death, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty by Order in Council to make provision for modifying or adapting this Act in its application to cases affected by the agreement.

The modifications of this Act which may be made by virtue of the foregoing subsection shall include provision—

Any power to make regulations or an order conferred by this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

Except in so far as this Act otherwise provides, any power conferred thereby to make an Order in Council, regulations or order may be exercised—

Without prejudice to any specific provision in this Act, any power to make an Order in Council, regulations or order conferred by this Act shall include power to make thereby such incidental or supplementary provision as appears to Her Majesty or the authority making the regulations or order, as the case may be, to be expedient—

Any power conferred by this Act to make an Order in Council, and the power to make an order conferred by section 5(2), 6(1) or 36(2)(b) of this Act, shall include power to vary or revoke any such Order in Council or order by a subsequent Order in Council or, as the case may be, order.

Any power conferred on the Minister or Joint Authority by any provision of this Act other than Schedule 7 to make any regulations or order shall, if the Treasury so direct, not be exercisable except in conjunction with the Treasury.

Any reference in this section to this Act (otherwise than as part of a reference to a particular provision thereof) shall include a reference to any enactment passed after this Act which is directed to be construed as one therewith, except in so far as the contrary intention appears in that enactment, and without prejudice to the generality of that direction.

No order shall be made under section 6, 46(2) or 47(1) of this Act, and, subject to subsection (3) of this section, no regulations shall be made wholly or partly by virtue of any of the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 22(4), 44, 100 and 102 and paragraph 19(b) of Schedule 11, unless a draft of the order or regulations has been laid before Parliament and has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

Where a draft of an order under the said section 6 is laid before Parliament, there shall be laid with it a report by the Government Actuary or the Deputy Government Actuary of the estimated consequences of the proposed order to the National Insurance Fund.

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to regulations to be made for the purpose only of consolidating regulations thereby revoked, nor to any other regulations which, in so far as they are made under the powers conferred by the provisions mentioned in that subsection, only replace provisions of previous regulations with new provisions to the same effect.

All orders made by the Minister or Joint Authority (whether alone or in conjunction with the Treasury) under this Act, and all regulations made under this Act, other than an order or regulations to which subsection (1) of this section applies, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any reference in subsection (4) of this section to this Act shall include a reference to any enactment passed after this Act which is directed to be construed as one therewith, except in so far as the contrary intention appears in that enactment, and without prejudice to the generality of that direction.

Subject to subsection (9) of this section and, in the case of regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 2 of Schedule 7 to this Act, without prejudice to section 62(2) of the Industrial Injuries Act, before making any regulations under this Act or laying a draft thereof before Parliament, the Minister shall submit to the National Insurance Advisory Committee a draft thereof (hereafter in this section referred to as a " preliminary draft").

Where a preliminary draft is so submitted to them, the Committee shall publish, in such manner as they think best adapted for notifying persons affected, notice of the fact and of the place where copies of the draft may be obtained and of the time, which shall be not less than fourteen nor more than twenty-eight days, within which any objection made with respect to the draft by or on behalf of persons affected must be sent to them.

Every objection shall be in writing and shall state the portions of the preliminary draft which are objected to, the specific grounds of objection, and the omissions, additions or modifications asked for.

The Committee shall forthwith consider any preliminary draft submitted to them under this section and shall consider any objection made by or on behalf of any person appearing to them to be affected which is sent to them within the required time, and shall report on the draft to the Minister, and the Minister shall consider the report of the Committee and may then make the regulations, or (in the case of regulations to which section 107(1) of this Act applies) lay a draft thereof before Parliament, either in the form of the preliminary draft or with such amendments as he thinks fit: Provided that where the Minister certifies that on account of urgency or any special reason any regulations, not being regulations to which the said section 107(1) applies, should come into operation without delay, the Minister may, before receiving or considering the report of the Committee on the preliminary draft, make the regulations as provisional regulations, so, however, that no provisional regulations shall continue in force for longer than three months after the receipt by the Minister of the report.

Whenever any regulations, not being provisional regulations, or any draft regulations are laid before Parliament, there shall be laid together therewith the report of the Committee on the preliminary draft thereof and a statement—

In the case of any regulations laid before Parliament at a time when Parliament is not sitting, the requirements of subsection (5) of this section shall be deemed to be satisfied as respects either House of Parliament if the report and statement referred to in that subsection are laid before that House not later than the second day on which that House sits after the laying of the regulations.

In relation to any regulations required or authorised under this Act to be made by the Joint Authority, or by the Minister or Joint Authority in conjunction with the Treasury, any reference in the foregoing provisions of this section to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the authority or authorities making or proposing to make the regulations.

Any reference in subsection (1) or (7) of this section to this Act shall include a reference to any enactment passed after this Act which is directed to be construed as one therewith, except in so far as the contrary intention appears in that enactment, and without prejudice to the generality of that direction.

This section shall not apply—

Where there is for the time being in force any scheme for the provision of pensions or other benefits, whether made before or after the passing of this Act (excluding any scheme established by any enactment repealed by the Act of 1946 but including any other scheme established by or under any enactment and any scheme evidenced only by one or more policies of insurance), provision for modifying or winding up that scheme in connection with— may be made by regulations made by such Minister of the Crown or government department as may be determined by the Treasury to be appropriate in relation to the scheme to which the regulations are to apply or, in default of any such determination, made by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies.

Any such regulations may authorise a scheme to be modified in any manner approved by an authority designated for the purpose by the regulations, or to be wound up on such terms as may be so approved.

The Minister may incur expenses for the purpose of furnishing the address at which a man or woman is recorded in his department as residing, where the address is required for the purpose of taking or carrying on legal proceedings to obtain or enforce an order for the making by the man or woman of payments for the maintenance of the man's wife or former wife, or woman's husband or former husband, or for the maintenance or education of any person as being the son or daughter of the man or his wife or former wife, or of the woman or her husband or former husband.

In the foregoing subsection " son or daughter " includes a son or daughter by adoption and an illegitimate son or daughter.

A marriage performed outside the United Kingdom under a law which permits polygamy shall be treated for any purpose of this Act as being and having at all times been a valid marriage if and so long as the authority by whom any question or claim arising in connection with that purpose falls to be determined is satisfied that the marriage has in fact at all times been monogamous.

Regulations may provide for a voidable marriage which has been annulled, whether before or after the date when the regulations come into force, to be treated for the purposes of such provisions of, or of any regulations under, this Act, subject to such exceptions or conditions as may be prescribed, as if it had been a valid marriage which was terminated by divorce at the date of the annulment.

In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say—

For the purposes of this Act—

For the purposes of this Act, two persons shall not be deemed to have ceased to reside together by reason of any temporary absence of either or both of them, and in particular by reason of any such absence at school or while receiving medical treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution or by reason of any absence of either or both of them in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

For the purposes of this Act—

For the purposes of this Act, the amount of a person's earnings for any period, and the rate of a person's remuneration, shall be calculated or estimated in such manner and on such basis as may be prescribed by regulations; and any such regulations may prescribe that payments of a particular class or description made or falling to be made to or by a person shall, to such extent as may be prescribed, be disregarded or, as the case may be, be deducted from the amount of that person's earnings or remuneration.

For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to be incapable of self-support if, but only if, he is incapable of supporting himself by reason of physical or mental infirmity and is likely to remain so incapable for a prolonged period.

Any references in this Act to any enactment shall, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any other enactment, including any enactment contained in this Act.

The regulations specified in Schedule 12 to this Act are hereby revoked, being the regulations reproduced by the following provisions of this Act, that is to say, sections 12, 40(1) and (2) (so far as relating to maternity allowance), 43(6) and (7), 49(4) and (5), 64 to 72, 77, 95 and 97.

Notwithstanding the reproduction of the regulations aforesaid as provisions of this Act, any question as to the validity of those provisions may be determined as though they were contained in regulations made under the powers under which the regulations they reproduce were respectively made.

Subject to section 116 of this Act, any instrument in force immediately before the commencement of this Act and made or having effect as if made under any enactment repealed by the Consequential Repeals Act but re-enacted in this Act, and, subject to paragraph 20 of Schedule 11 to this Act, any contribution paid, appointment, claim or award made, or other thing whatsoever done, under or by virtue of any such enactment or of any regulation specified in Schedule 12 to this Act, shall be deemed to have been made, paid or done, as the case may be, under or by virtue of the corresponding provision of this Act; and anything begun under any such enactment or regulation may be continued under this Act as if begun under this Act.

So much of any document as refers expressly or by implication to any enactment repealed and re-enacted as aforesaid or to any such regulation as aforesaid or to the Act or instrument containing that enactment or regulation shall, if and so far as the context permits, be construed as referring to the corresponding provision of this Act or, as the case may be, to this Act

The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 shall have effect subject to the following amendments, being, in the case of the amendment specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection, an amendment of that Act in its application both to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and to the Senate and House of Commons of Northern Ireland and, in the case of the amendment specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection, an amendment of that Act in its application to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that is to say—

In relation to any enactment repealed and re-enacted as aforesaid, section 38(1) of the Interpretation Act 1889 shall have effect as if the Consequential Repeals Act formed part of this Act; and nothing in subsections (1) to (3) of this section shall be taken as affecting the general application of the said section 38 as modified by this subsection with regard to the effect of repeals.

This Act may be cited as the National Insurance Act 1965.

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This Act shall come into force on such date as the Minister may by order appoint.