The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance) Amendment Order 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This order amends the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 (“the Rent Officers Order”) and the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Scotland) Order 1997 (the Rent Officers (Scotland) Order”) which confer functions on rent officers in connection with housing benefit and rent allowance subsidy. The amendments provide that that the new arrangements for rent officer determinations introduced by the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance) Amendment Order 2003 for the areas of specified local authorities (“pathfinder authorities”) will apply in the areas of 9 additional local authorities which will become pathfinder authorities.

Article 2 makes two amendments to the Rent Officers Order as it applies to pathfinder authorities in England and Wales. It substitutes a list of the original and additional pathfinder authorities in England and Wales, with the date on which each such authority became or is to become a pathfinder authority, for the list of authorities and dates in the table in Part II of Schedule 3A to the Rent Officers Order. It also revokes minor drafting amendments to paragraph 5 of Schedule 1.

Article 3 makes these minor drafting amendments for all local authorities to which the Rent Officers Order applies.

Article 4 provides that the Rent Officers Order shall apply to the additional local authorities in England and Wales as it applies to pathfinder authorities in England and Wales from the date specified in the Schedule for each of those additional local authorities.

Article 5(1) and (2)(a) makes amendments relating to the removal of the requirement for rent officers to make indicative rent determinations for the areas of pathfinder authorities in Scotland. (Indicative rent determinations are used to calculate payments on account of entitlement to a rent allowance and the amount of rent allowance subsidy a local authority should receive in certain cases where it has made such a payment).

Articles 5(1) and (2)(b), 6 and 7 make provision equivalent to that in articles 2, 3 and 4 in relation to the Rent Officers (Scotland) Order and the additional local authority in Scotland.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.