Housing Renovation etc. Grants (Reduction of Grant) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

Article 47 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 provides, inter alia, that where an application to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for a grant is accompanied by an owner-occupier certificate or a tenant’s certificate (as defined in Article 44(2) and (3)), then, if the financial resources of the applicant exceed the applicable amount determined in accordance with regulations, the amount of the grant shall be reduced in accordance with those Regulations.

These Regulations amend the Housing Renovation etc. Grants (Reduction of Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 which provided for reduction of the amount of renovation grant and disabled facilities grant which may be paid to such applicants.

Regulation 4 amends the definition of the applicable amount for cases where a person is in receipt of income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulation 5 amends the multipliers used in assessing the amount by which a grant is to be reduced.

Regulation 6 provides that, in certain circumstances, the amount by which a grant is reduced shall be abated by the amount by which a previous grant was reduced by virtue of regulations 10 and 11 of the Housing Renovation etc. Grants (Reduction of Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992.

Regulations 7 and 8 increase the maximum deduction for relevant child care charges to £100 per week where charges are paid in respect of more than one child and increase from 11 to 12 years the age of a child in respect of whom charges may be deducted.

Regulation 11 provides for the following to be excluded from a person’s notional income–

certain compensation payments made to minors;

coal compensation payments;

certain payments made to providers under the New Deal.

Regulation 12 provides for the following to be excluded from a person’s notional capital–

certain compensation payments made to minors;

certain payments made to providers under the New Deal.

Regulation 13 increases the sum to be disregarded from a student’s grant income in respect of the cost of books and equipment.

Regulation 14 uprates the applicable amounts and premiums in Schedule 1 to the 1997 Regulations, and removes the higher family premium applicable to a lone parent, subject to transitional provisions.

Regulation 15 provides for the sum of £25 to be disregarded in the calculation of the earnings of a lone parent.

Regulation 16 provides for certain payments made under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 to be disregarded in the calculation of a person’s income other than earnings.

Regulation 17 provides for certain payments of compensation to be disregarded for the purposes of calculating a person’s capital irrespective of whether the person is a minor.

Regulation 18 contains transitional provisions.