Amendments to the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 20068
1
The Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 200647 are amended as follows.
2
After the definition of “local housing allowance” in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), insert—
“local welfare provision” means occasional financial or other assistance given by a local authority, the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers, or a person authorised to exercise any function of, or provide a service to, them, to or in respect of individuals for the purpose of—
- a
meeting, or helping to meet, an immediate short term need—
- i
arising out of an exceptional event, or exceptional circumstances; and
- ii
that requires to be met in order to avoid a risk to the well-being of an individual; or
- b
enabling individuals to establish or maintain a settled home, where those individuals have been or, without the assistance, might otherwise be—
- i
in prison, hospital, a residential care establishment or other institution; or
- ii
homeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life;
3
In regulation 7 (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home)—
a
in paragraph (8)(c)(ii)48, after “pending”, insert “local welfare provision or”;
b
for paragraph (16)(c)(i)49, substitute—
i
a person to whom paragraph (16A) applies;
c
after paragraph (16), insert—
16A
This paragraph applies to a person (“P”) who is—
a
detained in custody on remand pending trial;
b
detained pending sentence upon conviction; or
c
as a condition of bail required to reside—
i
in a dwelling, other than a dwelling P occupies as P’s home; or
ii
in premises approved under section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007,
and who is not also detained in custody following sentence upon conviction.
4
In Schedule 6 (capital to be disregarded)—
a
in paragraph 21—
i
after sub-paragraph (1)(e), insert—
f
by way of local welfare provision including arrears and payments in lieu of local welfare provision.
ii
omit “or” at the end of sub-paragraph (2)(l)50; and
iii
after sub-paragraph (2)(m)51 add—
n
social fund payments
b
after paragraph 26D52, insert—
26E
Any payment in consequence of a reduction of council tax under section 13, 13A or 80 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (reduction of liability for council tax), but only for a period of 52 weeks from the date of the receipt of the payment.