The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

from 1988 to 2001. The old

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

is still often used informally. Advertisements for rented accommodation used to describe prospective tenants who would be paying their rent by means of

Housing Benefit Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the stat ...

, or the "Housing Element" of

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom social security payment. It is means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits for working-age households with a low income: income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's ...

, as "DSS" tenants. However, because of many changes within the benefit system, which is managed by the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stre ...

, the "DSS" tenants phrase has become outdated and is rarely used.

History

After the Fowler report, the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. H ...

separated during 1988 to form two departments, one of which was the DSS. During 2001, the department was largely replaced by the

, with the other responsibilities of the department assumed by the Treasury and the Ministry for Defence. Beginning in 1989, the Department of Social Security was subdivided into six executive agencies - firstly into the ''Resettlement agency'', in 1990 ''ITSA'' (Information Technology Services Agency), the ''Benefits Agency'' and ''Contributions Agency'' in 1991, the ''Child Support Agency'' in 1993 and the ''War Pensions Agency'' in 1994. As part of the UK government's spending review (March 1998), a paper ''New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare'' (1998) announced plans to increase efficiency ("streamline") in the administration of ''benefits'' from policy of social welfare, plans subsequently adopted as the "single gateway to benefits". The Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 brought reforms to the DSS guided by the principle of "work for those that can and security for those that cannot".The Crown (legislation.gov
Background to the Act
The National Archives - Retrieved 2012-06-06

References

Social affairs ministries

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

1988 establishments in the United Kingdom 2001 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Leeds {{UK-gov-stub