National Assistance Act 1948

7 Aggregation of requirements and resources.

(1) Where it appears to the Board that an applicant for assistance has to provide for requirements of some other person being a member of the same household, the Board shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, give assistance by reference to the aggregate requirements and aggregate resources of the applicant and the said other person.

(2) Where in the giving of assistance to an applicant therefor the requirements of another person are taken into account, that person is in this Act referred to as a dependant of the applicant.

(3) Where a husband and wife are members of the same household, their requirements and resources shall in all cases be aggregated for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, where it appears to the Board expedient so to do for the purpose of giving assistance in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section eight or the provisions of section ten of this Act, the Board may decline to treat as a dependant of an applicant for assistance any person who has attained the age of sixteen years.

(5) No application for assistance shall be made by a person who has not attained the age of sixteen years, but nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the giving of assistance by reference to the requirements of any such person as a dependant of another person.

(6) Regulations under section five of this Act shall include provision for securing, in the case of a person being a member of a household,—

(a) that the resources of any other member of the household, not being the husband or wife, or a dependant, of the said person, shall not be treated as resources of the said person;

(b) that if he is the householder his resources shall, unless exceptional circumstances are shown, be deemed to include contributions at the prescribed rate towards the expenses of the household from members thereof who are not dependants of his:

Provided that paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not have effect in relation to a householder who is a blind person or the husband or wife of a blind person.