The Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the 1992 Act” means the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

“the Administration Act 1992” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992;

“the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“alternative maximum council tax benefit” means the amount determined in accordance with regulation 54 and Schedule 2;

“appropriate authority” means—

(a)

in England and Wales, the billing authority to which Part I of the 1992 Act refers,

(b)

in Scotland, the levying authority to which Part II of the 1992 Act refers;

“appropriate social security office” means an office of the Department of Social Security which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for income support and includes an office of the Department of Employment which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for unemployment benefit;

“assessment period” means such period as is prescribed in regulations 14 to 16 over which income falls to be calculated;

“attendance allowance” means—

(a)

an attendance allowance under Part III of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

(b)

an increase of disablement pension under section 104 of that Act;

(c)

a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by paragraph 7(2)(b) of Schedule 8 to that Act (constant attendance allowance);

(d)

an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under paragraph 4 of Schedule 8 to that Act;

(e)

a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(1) or any analogous payment;

(f)

any payment based on need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension;

“benefit period” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 57;

“benefit week” means a period of 7 consecutive days commencing on a Monday and ending on a Sunday;

“boarder” means a person who pays a charge for his accommodation and at least some cooked or prepared meals which are both prepared and consumed in that accommodation or associated premises;

“child” means a person under the age of 16;

“claim” means a claim for council tax benefit;

“claimant” means a person claiming council tax benefit;

“close relative” means a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughterin-law, step-parent, step-ston, step-daughter, brother, sister or the spouse of any of the preceding persons or, if that person is one of an unmarried couple, the other member of that couple;

“community charge benefit” means the benefit to which section 123(1)(e) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 refers;

“concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury which is charged either to the National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 are charged;

“council tax benefit” means council tax benefit under Part VII of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(2);

“designated office” means the office designated by the appropriate authority, by way of notice upon a form approved by them, for the purpose of claiming council tax benefit and for the receipt of claims to council tax benefit;

“disability living allowance” means a disability living allowance under Part III of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“disability working allowance” means a disability working allowance under section 123 of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“dwelling” has the same meaning as in section 3 or 72 of the 1992 Act;

“earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 19 or, as the case may be, 21;

“eligible rent” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 10 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987(3) (rent);

“employed earner” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“family” has the meaning assigned to it by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“housing benefit” means housing benefit under Part VII of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“invalid carriage or other vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by a petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

“lone parent” means a person who has no partner and who is responsible for and a member of the same household as a child or young person;

“married couple” has the meaning assigned to it by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“member of a couple” means a member of a married or unmarried couple;

“mobility supplement” means a supplement to which paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 refers;

“net earnings” means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 20;

“net profit” means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 22;

“non-dependant” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 3;

“occupational pension” means any pension or other periodical payment under an occupational pension scheme but does not include any discretionary payment out of a fund established for relieving hardship in particular cases;

“partner”, means—

(a)

where a claimant is a member of a married or unmarried couple, the other member of that couple; or

(b)

where a claimant is polygamously married to two or more members of his household, any such member to whom he is married;

“payment” includes part of a payment;

“person affected” means any person (including the appropriate authority) whose rights, duties or obligations are affected by a determination, whether or not on review, or by a decision on further review;

“person on income support” means a person in receipt of income support;

“policy of life insurance” means any instrument by which the payment of money is assured on death (except death by accident only) or by the happening of any contingency dependent on human life, or any instrument evidencing a contract which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life;

“polygamous marriage” means a marriage to which section 133(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 refers;

“qualifying person” means a person in respect of whom payment has been made from the Fund;

“remunerative work” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 4;

“resident” has the meaning as in Part I or II of the 1992 Act;

“review board” means a board constituted in accordance with regulation 70(3) and Schedule 7;

“second adult” has the meaning given to it in Schedule 2;

“self-employed earner” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“single claimant” means a claimant who neither has a partner nor is a lone parent;

“student” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 38;

“supplementary benefit” means a supplementary pension or allowance under section 1 or 4 of the Supplementary Benefit Act 1976(4);

“the Fund” means moneys made available from time to time by the Secretary of State for the benefit of persons eligible for payment in accordance with the provisions of a scheme established by him on 24th April 1992 or, in Scotland, on 10th April 1992;

“the Independent Living Fund” means the charitable trust established out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing financial assistance to those persons incapacitated by or otherwise suffering from very severe disablement who are in need of such assistance to enable them to live independently;

“the Trusts” means

(a)

“the Macfarlane Trust”, established partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State to the Haemophilia Society, for the relief of poverty or distress among those suffering from haemophilia;

(b)

“the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust” established on 29th January 1990 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia;

(c)

“the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No. 2) Trust”, established on 3rd May 1991 partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State, for the benefit of certain persons suffering from haemophilia and other beneficiaries;

“training allowance” means an allowance (whether by way of periodical grants or otherwise) payable—

(a)

out of public funds by a Government department or by or on behalf of the Secretary of State, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise;

(b)

to a person for his maintenance or in respect of a member of his family; and

(c)

for the period, or part of the period, during which he is following a course of training or instruction provided by, or in pursuance of arrangements made with, that department or approved by that department in relation to him or so provided or approved by or on behalf of the Secretary of State, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise,

but it does not include an allowance paid by any Government department to or in respect of a person by reason of the fact that he is following a course of full-time education other than under arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(5) or is training as a teacher;

“unmarried couple” has the meaning assigned to it by section 137(1) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“water charges” means—

(a)

as respects England and Wales, any water charges under Chapter IV of Part II of the Water Act 1989(6),

(b)

as respects Scotland, any water charges under Schedule 11 to the 1992 Act,

in so far as such charges are in respect of the dwelling which a person occupies as his home;

“year of assessment” has the meaning prescribed in section 832(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(7);

“young person” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 5(1).

(2) In Schedule 5 references to a claimant occupying a dwelling or premises as his home shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987(8).

(3) In these Regulations, where an amount is to be rounded to the nearest penny, a fraction of a penny shall be disregarded if it is less than half a penny and shall otherwise be treated as a whole penny.

(4) For the purposes of these Regulations, two persons shall be taken to be estranged only if their estrangement constitutes a breakdown of the relationship between them.

(5) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—

(a) to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number;

(b) to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in, or the Schedule to, these Regulations bearing that number;

(c) in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(d) in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

(1)

S.I. 1983/686; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1983/1164 and 1984/1675.

(2)

1992 c. 4; council tax benefit was substituted for community charge benefit in Part VII by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) Schedule 9.

(3)

1987/1971; relevant amending instruments S.I. 1988/1971 and 1990/546.

(4)

1976 c. 71.

(5)

1973 c. 50; section 2 was substituted by section 25 of the Employment Act 1988 (c. 19).

(6)

1989 c. 15.

(7)

1988 c. 1.

(8)

S.I. 1987/1971; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1988/1971, 1990/1017 and 1549, 1991/235 and 387.