I will outline the main provisions of the Bill. Section 3 sets out the rules to determine with whom a child normally resides for the purposes of social welfare payments with the exception of child benefit. Section 4 provides for an amendment to the definition of spouse to include different sex co-habiting couples as spouse for the purpose of farm assist and pre-retirement allowance. Section 5 provides for the inclusion of health contributions in the definition of contributions for the purposes of the four year limit on the return of contributions. Section 6 confers power to make regulations to provide for the conditions under which a person is regarded as being incapable of work for the purposes of qualification for the payment of illness benefit.

See this item in context