The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.5) Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/2887), the Family Credit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1973) and the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967) in the following respects—

(a) treating a person as not being engaged in remunerative work where he receives payments from certain organisations for providing temporary accommodation and care to a person not normally a member of his household or is in receipt of a training allowance while on a scheme of training or instruction (regulations 2, 11 and 23);

(b) the provisions concerning the period over which the weekly earnings of employed or self-employed earners are to be calculated (regulations 3, 5(2), 12(a), 13, 15(2), 16(a) and (c), 26 and 28);

(c) the amount of income tax to be deducted in calculating certain earnings (regulations 4, 14, 16(b) and 29);

(d) excluding 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 (regulations 6, 17 and 27);

(e) 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 annunity, in calculating sums to be disregarded from a claimant’s income and 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 which are to be disregarded from a person’s income (regulations 9, 20 and 32);

(f) the 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 and of arrears of payments under the instruments referred to in paragraph (e) above (regulations 10, 21 and 33).

The Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations are further amended with respect to—

(a) the deduction to be made in calculating earnings on account of pension contributions (regulation 5(3));

(b) child support maintenance payments which are not to be treated as capital (regulation 7);

(c) the effect of a new award of disability working allowance or family credit which overlaps the period of an existing award of disability working allowance in terminating the existing award (regulation 8).

The Family Credit (General) Regulations are further amended with respect to—

(a) the determination of a claimant’s normal weekly earnings where an adjudication officer considers he has restricted his hours of work with the intention of increasing the amount of benefit to which he is entitled (regulation 12(b));

(b) the deduction to be made in calculating earnings on account of pension contributions (regulation 15(3));

(c) child support maintenance payments which are not to be treated as capital (regulation 18);

(d) the effect of a new award of family credit or disability working allowance which overlaps the period of an existing award of family credit in terminating the existing award (regulation 19).

The Income Support (General) Regulations are further amended with respect to—

(a) extending the classes of persons who are to be treated as having preserved rights to receive income support where they are resident in residential care homes or nursing homes (regulation 24(2) and (5));

(b) the extension in Scotland of preserved rights to income support to certain persons who were resident in residential care or nursing homes on 31st March 1993 or who were temporarily absent from such accommodation on that date (regulation 24(3) and (4));

(c) the definition of residential accommodation as it applies to Scotland (regulation 25);

(d) the conditions governing the award of a severe disability premium where the person caring for the disabled person receives a back payment of invalid care allowance (regulation 30);

(e) the inclusion of an amount in a claimant’s applicable amount, in respect of a retaining fee which is payable during certain absences from residential accommodation provided under the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and increasing the maximum amount in respect of the weekly charge for his accommodation (regulation 31).

These Regulations do not impose a charge on businesses.