The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Subsidy) Order 1997

Deductions to be made in calculating subsidy in respect of council tax benefit

19.—(1) The deductions referred to in article 14(2) are, subject to paragraph (2), of the following amounts, namely where—

(a) an appropriate authority has by virtue of regulation 51(5) or 54(4) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (increases of weekly amounts for exceptional circumstances)(1) increased benefit in exceptional circumstances, the amount attributable to that increase;

(b) during the relevant year an amount is recovered in relation to excess benefits allowed in consequence of departmental error, within the meaning of article 18(5), and where the excess benefit had occurred and been discovered in one or more of the years ending 31st March 1991, 31st March 1992, 31st March 1993, 31st March 1994, 31st March 1995 or 31st March 1996, as the case may be, the amount so recovered;

(c) during the relevant year fraudulent excess benefit, within the meaning of article 18(7), is identified, the amount so identified, but only to the extent that the amount of the excess benefits or any part of it has not been deducted from council tax benefit qualifying expenditure under article 19 of the 1994 Order, the 1995 Order or the 1996 Order, as the case may be;

(d) subject to sub-paragraphs (b) and (c), during the relevant year it is discovered by an appropriate authority that excess benefits have been allowed, the amount of the excess benefits, but only to the extent that—

(i) the amount of the excess benefits or any part of it has not been deducted from community charge benefit qualifying expenditure under article 15 of the 1991 Order or article 16 of the 1992 Order or the 1993 Order or from council tax benefit qualifying expenditure under article 19 of the 1994 Order, the 1995 Order or the 1996 Order, as the case may be; and

(ii) the amount of the excess benefits or any part of it does not include an amount payable pursuant to either paragraph (18) of regulation 60 of the Community Charge Benefits Regulations or paragraph (16) of regulation 62 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (time and manner in which claims are to be made);

(e) during the relevant year any instrument of payment which was issued by an appropriate authority during that year is returned to that authority without being presented for payment or is found by that authority to have passed its date of validity without being presented for payment, the amount of any such instrument.

(2) Where in relation to any amount of benefit a deduction falls to be made under two or more sub-paragraphs of paragraph (1), only the higher or highest or, where the amounts are equal, only one amount shall be deducted.

(1)

Regulations 51(5) and 54(4) were added by S.I. 1994/2137.