The Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household

19.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), the claimant and any partner and, where the claimant or his partner is treated as responsible by virtue of regulation 18 for a child or young person, that child or young person and any child of that child or young person, shall be treated as members of the same household notwithstanding that any of them is temporarily living away from the other members of his family.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a person who is living away from the other members of his family where—

(a) that person does not intend to resume living with the other members of his family; or

(b) his absence from the other members of his family is likely to exceed 52 weeks, unless there are exceptional circumstances (for example where the person is in hospital or otherwise has no control over the length of his absence) and the absence is unlikely to be substantially more than 52 weeks.

(3) A child or young person shall not be treated as a member of the claimant’s household where he is—

(a) placed with the claimant or his partner by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under Article 27(2)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation and maintenance by an authority for children whom it is looking after) or by a voluntary organisation under Article 75(1)(a) of that Order (provision of accommodation by voluntary organisation);

(b) placed with the claimant or his partner prior to adoption; or

(c) placed for adoption with the claimant or his partner pursuant to a decision under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989(1).

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), paragraph (1) shall not apply to a child or young person who is not living with the claimant and he—

(a) is being looked after by an authority, as defined in Article 2 of the Children Order, under a relevant enactment;

(b) has been placed with a person other than the claimant prior to adoption; or

(c) has been placed for adoption pursuant to a decision under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989.

(5) An authority shall treat a child or young person to whom paragraph (4)(a) applies, as being a member of the claimant’s household in any benefit week where—

(a) that child or young person lives with the claimant for part or all of that benefit week; and

(b) the authority considers that it is reasonable to do so taking into account the nature and frequency of that child’s or young person’s visits.

(6) In this regulation “relevant enactment” means the Army Act 1955(2), the Air Force Act 1955(3), the Naval Discipline Act 1957(4),the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968(5), the Health and Personal Social Services Order, the Family Law Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1977(6), the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(7), the Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980(8), the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987(9) and the Children Order.

(1)

S.R. 1989 No. 253

(2)

1955 c. 18

(3)

1955 c. 19

(4)

1957 c. 53

(5)

1968 c. 34 (N.I.)

(6)

S.I. 1977/1250 (N.I. 17)

(7)

S.I. 1978/1045 (N.I. 15)

(8)

S.I. 1980/563 (N.I. 5)

(9)

S.I. 1987/2203 (N.I. 22)