The Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992

Notional capital

37.—(1) A claimant shall be treated as possessing capital of which he has deprived himself for the purpose of securing entitlement to disability working allowance or increasing the amount of that benefit except—

(a) where that capital is derived from a payment made in consequence of any personal injury and is placed on trust for the benefit of the claimant; or

(b) to the extent that the capital which he is treated as possessing is reduced in accordance with regulation 38 (diminishing notional capital rule).

(2) Except in the case of—

(a) a discretionary trust;

(b) a trust derived from a payment made in consequence of a personal injury; or

(c) any loan which would be obtainable only if secured against capital disregarded under Schedule 4,

any capital which would become available to the claimant upon application being made but which has not been acquired by him shall be treated as possessed by him.

(3) Any payment of capital, other than a payment of capital made under the Macfarlane Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No. 2) Trust or the Independent Living Fund, made—

(a) to a third party in respect of a single claimant or a member of the family (but not a member of the third party’s family) shall be treated as possessed by that single claimant or member of the family to the extent that it is used for his food, ordinary clothing or footwear, household fuel or housing costs; and in this sub-paragraph “ordinary clothing or footwear” means clothing or footwear for normal daily use, but does not include school uniforms, or clothing or footwear used solely for sporting activities; or

(b) to a single claimant or a member of the family in respect of a third party (but not in respect of another member of the family) shall be treated as possessed by that single claimant or member of the family to the extent that it is kept by him or used on behalf of any member of the family.

(4) Where a claimant stands in relation to a company in a position analogous to that of a sole owner or partner in the business of that company, he shall be treated as if he were such sole owner or partner and in such a case—

(a) the value of his holding in that company shall, notwithstanding regulation 32 (calculation of capital), be disregarded; and

(b) he shall, subject to paragraph (5), be treated as possessing an amount of capital equal to the value or, as the case may be, his share of the value of the capital of that company and the foregoing provisions of this Chapter shall apply for the purposes of calculating that amount as if it were actual capital which he does possess.

(5) For so long as the claimant undertakes activities in the course of the business of the company, the amount which he is treated as possessing under paragraph (4) shall be disregarded.

(6) Where a claimant is treated as possessing capital under any of paragraphs (1) to (4), the foregoing provisions of this Chapter shall apply for the purposes of calculating its amount as if it were actual capital which he does possess.

(7) For the avoidance of doubt a claimant is to be treated as possessing capital under paragraph (1) only if the capital of which he has deprived himself is actual capital and not capital which he is treated as possessing under regulation 39 (capital jointly held).