The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulation 1995

Amendment of regulation 21A of the Housing Benefit Regulations

4.—(1) Regulation 21A of the Housing Benefit Regulations(1) (treatment of child care charges) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) In paragraph (4)—

(a) after sub-paragraph (a), there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraphs—

“(aa) the claimant’s applicable amount would include a disability premium or a higher pensioner premium on account of the other member’s incapacity but for that other member being treated as capable of work by virtue of a determination made in accordance with regulations made under section 171E of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(ab) the claimant (within the meaning of regulation 2) is, or is treated as, incapable of work and has been so incapable, or has been so treated as incapable, of work in accordance with the provisions of, and regulations made under, Part XIIA of the Contributions and Benefits Act (incapacity for work) for a continuous period of not less than 196 days; and for this purpose any two or more separate periods separated by a break of not more than 56 days shall be treated as one continuous period;”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (b) for head (i) there shall be substituted the following head—

“(i) long-term incapacity benefit or short-term incapacity benefit at the higher rate under Schedule 4 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(2);”.

(3) At the end there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), once paragraph (4)(ab) applies to the claimant, if he then ceases, for a period of 56 days of less, to be incapable, or to be treated as incapable, of work, that paragraph shall, on his again becoming so incapable, or so treated as incapable, of work at the end of that period, immediately thereafter apply to him for so long as he remains incapable, or is treated as remaining incapable, of work.”.

(1)

Regulation 21A was inserted by S.I. 1994/1924.

(2)

1992 c. 4, Section 30A was inserted by the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c. 18), section 1(1). Schedule 4, Part I, paragraph 2 was amended by section 2(2) of that Act.