Doreen Warnock & Combined Beneficiaries Union Inc v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development - SC 30/2006

Civil – social security – advances made to beneficiary for repair/maintenance of home – policy of the Department of Social Security (as it was then known) to charge interest on advances – whether the discretion to make advances “subject to such terms and conditions as the Director-General may determine” under Social Security Act 1964, s 125 empowers the Director-General to make an advance subject to the payment of interest where the payment of interest does not arise by necessary implication from the provisions of the Act – whether the interest component of an advance under s 125 was a tax – whether the Court of Appeal was in error to treat the common law approach to the charging of interest as being “not particularly helpful… in this particular instance.” CA 10/05 16 March 2006