The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971), the Housing Benefit (Supply of Information) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/662) and the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1814).

With respect to housing benefit and council tax benefit,

(a) they amend the definition of “employed earner” to include a person in receipt of certain payments under Northern Ireland legislation and provide for the deduction of certain contributions under that legislation for the purpose of calculating net earnings (regulations 2, 3, 15 and 16);

(b) they further specify the amount of income tax to be deducted in calculating certain income (regulations 3, 5, 16 and 18); the amount to be deducted in respect of contributions towards a pension scheme in calculating earnings of employed earners (regulations 3 and 16); and the calculation of earnings of persons who have been in employment for a short period (regulations 3 and 16);

(c) they exclude payments made to a claimant by certain organisations for providing temporary accommodation and care to a person not normally a member of his household from being treated as earnings of self-employed earners (regulations 4 and 17);

(d) with respect to determinations and reviews concerning benefit, they amend the definition of “person affected”, and specify that certain requests and written representations are to be made by such a person (regulations 2, 6 to 9, 15 and 22 to 24);

(e) with respect to the calculation of a person’s applicable amount, they amend references to statutory provisions concerning invalidity pension and retirement pension; and they amend conditions for the award of a severe disability premium where the person caring for the disabled person receives a back-dated payment of invalid care allowance (regulations 11 and 27);

(f) with respect to the calculation of sums to be disregarded from income other than earnings, they make amendments in respect of the rates of income tax to be deducted from interest due on a loan secured on a person’s dwelling which is used for the purchase of an annuity; and they provide a disregard for certain payments to widows under the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983, the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983 and specified Dispensing Instruments (regulations 12 and 28);

(g) with respect to the calculation of capital, they provide a disregard of capital administered by the High Court, the County Court or the Court of Protection in England and Wales or the Court of Session or Sheriff Court in Scotland on behalf of a person under the age of 18, which derives from an award of damages for personal injury to that person or for the death of one or both of such a person’s parents (regulations 13 and 29); and they provide a disregard of arrears of payments under the instruments referred to in paragraph (f) above;

(h) they further specify the information which the Secretary of State may supply to a local authority, so as to include information in relation to a payment of income support which has been withheld (regulations 14 and 25);

(i) they provide that a local authority shall notify the Secretary of State in certain circumstances where a person claiming housing benefit or council tax benefit, or that person’s partner, may be eligible for family credit but it appears that a claim for family credit has not been made (regulations 14 and 26).

With respect to housing benefit they further define the term “landlord” in respect of certain payments of benefit that may be made to a landlord (regulation 10); and require certain requests and written representations concerning determinations and reviews to be signed by the person making them (regulations 6 to 9).

With respect to council tax benefit they specify the extent to which any local authority may in exceptional circumstances increase a person’s maximum council tax benefit, and omit the provision under which a local authority may modify the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 so that it may in exceptional circumstances make such an increase (regulations 19 to 21).

These Regulations do not impose a charge on businesses.