These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 2nd July 2001.

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “the Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000;

• “the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992;

• “appeal” means an appeal to an appeal tribunal;

• “appropriate relevant authority” has the meaning it has in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act;

• “benefit week” means a period of seven consecutive days commencing on a Monday and ending on a Sunday;

• “claimant” means a person claiming housing benefit or council tax benefit or both;

• “clerk to an appeal tribunal” means a clerk assigned to an appeal tribunal in accordance with regulation 37 of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999;

• “Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 19928;

• “Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 19999;

• “designated authority” has the meaning it has in regulation 2(1) of the Work-focused Interviews Regulations;

• “financially qualified panel member” means a panel member who is an accountant and a member of—

  1. a

     the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

  2. b

     the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland;

  3. c

     the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;

  4. d

     the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants;

  5. e

     the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; or

  6. f

     the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy;

• “Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 198710;

• “legally qualified panel member” means a panel member who—

  1. a

     has a general qualification (construed in accordance with section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990)11; or

  2. b

     is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland;

• “official error” means an error made by—

  1. a

     a relevant authority or a person—

     1. i

        authorised to carry out any function of a relevant authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit; or

     2. ii

        providing services relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit directly or indirectly to a relevant authority;

  2. b

     an officer of—

     1. i

        the Department of Social Security;

     2. ii

        the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; or

     3. iii

        the Department for Education and Employment,

     acting as such;

  3. c

     a person employed by a designated authority acting on behalf of the authority,

  but excludes any error caused wholly or partly by any person or body not specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of this definition and any error of law which is shown to have been an error only by virtue of a subsequent decision of a Commissioner (construed in accordance with paragraph 23(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act) or the court;

• “panel member” means a person appointed to a panel constituted under section 6 of the Social Security Act 1998;

• “partner” means—

  1. a

     where a claimant is a member of a married or unmarried couple, the other member of that couple; or

  2. b

     where a claimant is polygamously married to two or more members of his household, any such member;

• “person affected” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 3;

• “President” means the President of appeal tribunals appointed under section 5 of the Social Security Act 1998;

• “principal parties” has the same meaning as in paragraph 7(4) of Schedule 7 to the Act;

• “relevant authority” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act;

• “relevant decision” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 7 to the Act;

• “work-focused interview” has the same meaning as in regulation 3 of the Work-focused Interviews Regulations;

• “the Work-focused Interviews Regulations” means the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 200012.