National Assistance Act 1948

22 Charges to be made for accommodation.

(1) Persons for whom accommodation is provided under this Part of this Act shall pay for the accommodation in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the payment for any such accommodation shall be in accordance with a standard rate fixed for that accommodation by the authority managing the premises in which it is provided.

(3) Where a person for whom accommodation in premises managed by any local authority is provided, or proposed to be provided, under this Part of this Act satisfies the local authority that he is unable to pay therefor at the standard rate, the authority shall assess his ability to pay (apart from any supplementation of his resources which he will receive under Part II of this Act), and accordingly determine at what lower rate he shall be liable to pay for the accommodation:

Provided that the liability shall in no case be reduced below such sum per week as may be prescribed by the Minister.

(4) In assessing for the purposes of the last foregoing subsection a person's ability to pay, a local authority shall assume that he will need for his personal requirements such sum per week as may be prescribed by the Minister, or such other sum as in special circumstances the authority may consider appropriate.

(5) In assessing as aforesaid a person's ability to pay, a local authority shall give effect to the relevant provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act.

(6) Where temporary accommodation is provided for a person for less than a week, or it appears to the authority managing the premises in which temporary accommodation is being provided for a person that by reason of special circumstances charges therefor cannot appropriately be made in accordance with the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, those provisions shall not apply but the said person shall pay for the accommodation at such rate as the local authority may determine.

(7) Where accommodation is provided for a child accompanied by a person over the age of sixteen, the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to the following modifications:—

(a) in respect of the accommodation provided for the child payment shall be made by the person by whom the child is accompanied,

(b) the personal requirements of the child shall be treated as personal requirements of the person by whom the child is accompanied, and for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section the fact that that person is accompanying the child may be treated as special circumstances.

(8) Where accommodation is provided by a local authority in premises managed by another local authority, the payment therefor under this section shall be made to the authority managing the premises and not to the authority providing accommodation, but the authority managing the premises shall account for the payment to the authority providing the accommodation.

(9) Where the whole or part of a liability arising under this section is taken into account by the Board in making an assistance grant, and the person receiving the grant fails to pay any sum due from him under this section, the Board may, in lieu of issuing the whole of the grant to the person to whom it is made, issue to the local authority concerned, in or towards the satisfaction of the liability, so much of the grant as relates to that liability.