New clause 39—Universal Credit: Exemption from repaying hardship payments—

‘(1) The Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013 are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 116 (Conditions for hardship payments), subparagraph (1)(f), after (c) leave out “and

“(g) the Secretary of State is satisfied that the single claimant or each joint claimant is in hardship”

and insert—

“(g) the claimant is or has recently been a victim of domestic abuse; and

(h) the Secretary of State is satisfied that the single claimant or each joint claimant is in hardship.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph 1(g) a person has recently been a victim of domestic abuse if a period of 12 months has not expired since the domestic abuse was inflicted or threatened.”

(3) In regulation 116 (Conditions for hardship payments), after paragraph (3)(d) insert—

“(4) In this regulation—

‘domestic abuse’ has the meaning as set out in section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2020;

‘victim of domestic abuse’ means a person on or against whom domestic abuse is inflicted or threatened.”’