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

Amendment of regulation 51 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations

19.—(1) Regulation 51 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (maximum council tax benefit)(1) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) In paragraph (1) for the words “paragraphs (2) to (4)” there shall be substituted the words “paragraphs (2) to (5)”.

(3) After paragraph (4) there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(5) Where—

(a) the appropriate authority is satisfied that a claimant’s circumstances are exceptional; and

(b) either—

(i) any deduction (“non-dependant deduction”) in respect of non-dependants falls to be made under regulation 52 for the purpose of determining a person’s appropriate maximum council tax benefit; or

(ii) an amount falls to be deducted from a person’s appropriate maximum council tax benefit in accordance with section 131(8)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(2) (amount of council tax benefit where income exceeds applicable amount); and

(c) the condition in section 131(5) of that Act (condition as to income) would be fulfilled in respect of that person even if his appropriate maximum council tax benefit were not increased under this paragraph,

the authority may determine that the amount of the person’s appropriate maximum council tax benefit calculated in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (4) (“the lower amount”) shall be such higher amount (“the increased amount”) as it considers appropriate in the particular circumstances of the case, but so that the increased amount, after any deduction made in accordance with section 131(8)(b) of that Act, shall not exceed the sum of the lower amount and any non-dependant deductions.”.

(1)

Regulation 51 was amended by S.I. 1993/688.

(2)

1992 c. 4; section 131 was substituted by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14), section 103 and Schedule 9, paragraph 4.