Please note:

The Committee has no executive functions and cannot answer individual benefit enquiries or investigate complaints. If you have an enquiry or complaint please refer to the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Further general information and benefit advice can be found on http://www.direct.gov.uk/


A Guide to the Remit and Responsibilities of the SSAC

This section describes the remit, duties and procedures of the SSAC as well as information about the members of the Committee. It is not a comprehensive statement of the Committee's functions, but a guide to the subjects covered and the procedures operated by the SSAC. For further information please contact us.

Remit

The Committee is the main UK advisory body on social security matters.

The Committee's remit does not include industrial injuries, war pensions or occupational pensions, all of which are dealt with by other advisory bodies. Nor does the remit extend to subjects which may interrelate with social security benefits but which are not the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions.

For example:


The Committee takes an interest in the impact of these policy areas on social security but has no statutory advisory responsibility for them.

In the case of National Insurance (NI) contributions and Tax Credits (TC), a Memorandum of Understanding between the Committee and Her Majesty Revenue and Customes (HMRC) exists. This sets up formal arrangements under which the Committee will be invited to comment on matters within HMRC's responsibility and to provide confidential advice to Treasury Ministers.

From April 2000, at the request of the Secretary of State, the Committee took on the significant new task of scrutinising the Department's public information strategy.

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Responsibilities

The Committee's responsibilities are:

To give advice on social security issues as it sees fit.

Under this power of initiative the Committee has examined a wide range of policy issues (for example: benefits for disabled people; and benefits for carers). It publishes its views on these general topics in its annual stewardship reports. (The Third and Fourth Reports differed from this arrangement in that they contained, respectively, the Committee's evidence and response to the Government's 1984/5 review of social security.) To help in this area of its work the Committee has frequent meetings with outside organisations, makes visits to the Department's local and national delivery sites and maintains a close interest in developments in the social welfare field.

To consider and report on social security regulations referred to it.

Draft regulations or proposals for regulations must be submitted to the Committee by the Secretary of State or the Northern Ireland Department responsible for social security issues unless:


When regulations are formally referred to the Committee, it usually initiates public consultation with interested bodies and individuals so that its reports to the Secretary of State are based on as wide a range of evidence as possible. The organisations consulted by the Committee differ according to the subject of the regulations in question. The Secretary of State is obliged to take account of the Committee’s recommendations and, when the regulations are finally laid before the House, the Committee’s report and a statement explaining the response to its recommendations must also be laid.

In cases of urgency, the Secretary of State may make regulations without prior reference to the Committee, and, if the matter becomes urgent after the reference to the SSAC, the regulations may be made without waiting for the Committee’s report. In both these instances, the Committee would proceed with the consultation in the usual way and produce a report which, together with the Secretary of State’s response, would be laid before Parliament after the regulations have been made.

To consider and advise on any matters referred to it by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions or the Northern Ireland Department responsible for social security.

The Committee's views are also sought less formally on a variety of subjects, and it has the opportunity to comment on the early stages of some policy discussions. The Committee does not hold consultation exercises on these subjects, but may meet interested parties to help in formulating views. Although the Committee has no responsibility for social security operations, it takes a close interest in service to the public. Members make regular visits to local service delivery sites and other operational centres to see for themselves how things are working.

To scrutinise information products produced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Department and Ministers continue to be responsible for information products of all kinds whether they are in printed or electronic form, and irrespective of whether they are provided purely for the general public and/or advice agencies, or purely for staff guidance. However, the Committee examines a sample of products and contributes to the process of ensuring that leaflets are clear enough for any reasonable person to understand, and that there are no significant omissions. It also scrutinises the production and checking processes within the Department, and assesses how effectively information products are used by staff when handling customer enquiries.

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About appointments

The Government relies on a wide range of public bodies to play a part in the process of developing and delivering national policies. Such non-departmental public bodies generally have a board or committee of appointed members who take responsibility for the functions of the body (either executive functions or advisory ones). Anyone can apply for a public appointment. The SSAC is a statutory body established by the Social Security Act 1980. It is an advisory Committee and has no executive functions.

All appointments are made on merit and on the basis of equal opportunity for all. The Government welcomes applications from candidates from all backgrounds who can bring the necessary skills to the Committee. All appointments are monitored by the Commissioner for Public Appointments to ensure they are made in line with proper procedures.

Constitution of the Committee

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required to appoint a Chair and not less than 10 or more than 13 members. Each member of the Committee is appointed by the Secretary of State to hold office for a period of not more than five years or less than three years. Appointees may serve for any number of terms up to a maximum of 10 years as long as they have been assessed by the Department as performing appropriately in accordance with the performance assessment set out in guidance issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments . After 10 years new candidates must be sought, though a retiring appointee may be considered in this category.

One member is appointed following consultation with employers' organisations (Confederation of British Industry), one following consultation with workers' organisations (Trades Union Congress), and one following consultation with the Department responsible for social security in Northern Ireland (The Department for Social Development (DSD)) The Secretary of State is also required to appoint a member who has experience of the chronically sick or disabled or someone who is chronically sick or disabled. By custom, the Committee also has a member from Wales and from Scotland.

Members are paid an attendance fee and travelling allowances to attend meetings. The SSAC may act when there are vacancies in its membership and may make its own procedural rules.

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The Role of Members

The Committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month except September. Meetings last around 3-4 hours. One meeting (usually June) lasts two days and includes an overnight stay. Members are expected to attend meetings on a regular basis.

The Committee's work consists largely of considering detailed, and often complex, proposals for social security regulations and of monitoring and scrutinising information products issued by the Department for Work and Pensions. Proposals for changes to regulations are normally presented as papers and sent to members in advance of meetings. Members are expected to have considered the papers before the meeting and to make a positive contribution to the Committee's deliberations and to work effectively with other members.

The scrutiny of information products is normally undertaken by a postal exercise with comments being submitted in writing. However, this is a new role and the method by which this function is discharged may change.

Members are also expected to keep abreast of operational matters and to make occasional visits to local offices and to provide a short written report on their findings. There are opportunities for other visits but these are subject to members' availability.

Members frequently see confidential proposals and are expected to consider them in confidence. Members are expected to refer any requests for information or interview by the media to the Secretary or the Chair and not to discuss the Committee's business.

The required qualities for membership are as follows:

Essential


Desirable


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The Work of the Committee

The SSAC's responsibilities are defined in the Social Security Administration 1992 Act as:


The General Advisory Duty Of The SSAC

The SSAC's general advisory duty forms the basis of most of its activity, particularly where it decides to pursue issues on its own initiative. Since it was set up the Committee has examined a wide range of policy issues and published its views on these general topics in its periodic stewardship reports.

The SSAC has also taken on, at the request of the Secretary of State, a significant new task of monitoring and scrutinising the Department for Work and Pensions information products. Whilst overall responsibility for Department for Work and Pensions publications rests with the Department, the Committee adds an additional level of quality assurance.

Wherever possible the Department involves the SSAC in major social security policy developments, although major changes are sometimes made without prior consultation with the Committee. The SSAC is usually invited by the Department to participate in any public exercise in its territory, eg the question of welfare reform. Although the SSAC has no statutory responsibility for operational matters the Committee is encouraged to look at the operational implications of changes and service to the public.

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Social Security Regulations

Most social security regulations come before the SSAC, the only significant exceptions being regulations which go to other advisory bodies or set benefit rates. Relief from routine and/or insignificant regulations is available, since the Act permits the SSAC to agree it does not need formal reference of particular regulations. However, they have to be considered by the SSAC, usually at a monthly meeting.

When the SSAC has considered regulations which it has asked to be formally referred, its report must be presented to Parliament when the regulations are laid with a statement from the Secretary of State showing what has been done (or is intended to be done) about the SSAC's recommendations.

Where the Secretary of State decides that the regulations are needed urgently without a reference to the SSAC before they come into force, the regulations are referred to the Committee after they have been made a report then produced. Where the matter becomes urgent after referral to SSAC, the Secretary of State may proceed to make regulations urgently without waiting for the Committee's report. The report and the Secretary of State's response would then be produced and published at a later date.

The Northern Ireland Responsibilities of the SSAC

The Social Security Administration Act gives the SSAC virtually identical responsibilities in relation to the Northern Ireland social security system as it has for Great Britain. Although the two systems are almost identical they operate in different settings; Northern Ireland is, according to most conventional indicators, more deprived than any British region. There are also differences in social security administration, partly due to the much reduced scale of the Northern Ireland operations compared to those in Great Britain and the continued existence of rates instead of community charge or council tax.

The Northern Ireland Member of the SSAC

The Social Security Administration Act 1992 makes particular recognition of the SSAC's Northern Ireland responsibilities by providing that one member must be appointed after consultation with the head of the DSD Northern Ireland. But it has always been the intention that the SSAC's Northern Ireland member should be a full member of the SSAC in relation to its GB responsibilities and not be solely responsible for safeguarding Northern Ireland interests on the Committee. Similarly, all members are expected to participate fully in the consideration of Northern Ireland matters.

Because of the parity maintained between the GB and Northern Ireland social security systems, involvement of the SSAC in the great majority of social security issues or regulations initiated by the Department (GB) will invariably have just as much impact on Northern Ireland as GB. It is, therefore, necessary for the SSAC to function as a United Kingdom body in virtually all its activities.

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