The Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2018

Statutory Instruments

2018 No. 985

Social Security

The Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2018

Made

6th September 2018

Laid before Parliament

10th September 2018

Coming into force

15th October 2018

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 140B(1), (3), (4) and (4A), 140C(1) and (4), 140F(2) and 189(4) to (7) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(1).

In accordance with section 189(8) of that Act(2), the Secretary of State has obtained the consent of the Treasury.

In accordance with section 176(1) of that Act(3), the Secretary of State has consulted with organisations appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of the authorities concerned.

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2018 and comes into force on 15th October 2018.

(2) Article 3(2) and Schedule 1 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2017.

(3) Articles 3(1)(a) and (3) and 4 and Schedules 2, 3 and 4 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018.

(4) Articles 3(1)(b) and (4) and 5 have effect from 1st April 2018.

(5) In this Order—

“the 1998 Order” means he Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998(4);

“relevant year” means the period of a year beginning on 1st April in the calendar year in respect of which a claim for subsidy is made.

Amendment of the 1998 Order

2.  The 1998 Order is amended in accordance with articles 3 to 5.

The amount of an authority’s subsidy

3.—(1) In article 12(1) (amount of subsidy)(5)—

(a) after sub-paragraph (b), insert—

“(bza) the additional amount specified by Schedule 1ZB (additional amount of subsidy: verify earnings and pension alerts service); and”.

(b) omit sub-paragraph (ba)(6) and the “and” immediately after it.

(2) For Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy)(7) substitute the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.

(3) After the substituted Schedule 1 insert the Schedule 1ZB set out in Schedule 2 to this Order.

(4) Omit Schedule 1ZA (additional amount of subsidy: right benefit initiative)(8).

Rent rebate deductions from an authority’s subsidy

4.—(1) Schedule 4A (rent rebate limitation deductions (housing revenue account dwellings))(9) is amended as follows.

(2) In Part 2 (England), in paragraph 3 (amount of deduction), for sub-paragraph (3)(10) substitute—

“(3) The rebate proportion for 2018-19 is 0.756.”.

(3) For Part 3 (weekly rent limits for purposes of Part 2: authorities in England)(11), substitute the Part 3 set out in Schedule 3 to this Order.

(4) For Part 5 (amounts for purposes of Part 4, paragraph 4: authorities in Wales)(12), substitute the Part 5 set out in Schedule 4 to this Order.

Subsidy claims made by authorities in England

5.—(1) In article 2 (interpretation of Parts 2 and 4), insert in the appropriate places the following definitions—

““HBAP” means the Housing Benefit Assurance Process published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 29th March 2017 and last updated on 27th March 2018(13);”;

““report of factual findings” means the report completed by the reporting accountant in accordance with HBAP setting out the details of, and the relevant matters arising from, the test;”;

““test” means a test of the claim for final subsidy by the authority and the reporting accountant in accordance with HBAP and “tested” shall be construed accordingly.”.

(2) In article 3A (electronic communications)(14), in paragraph (1)—

(a) for “or auditor” substitute “a reporting accountant or an auditor”

(b) after “claim,” insert “test,”.

(3) In article 4 (requirement of claim)(15), in paragraph (3), for the words from “the authority’s auditor” to the end of the paragraph substitute—

“—

(a) in the case of an authority in England, the authority’s reporting accountant;

(b) in the case of an authority in Wales or Scotland, the authority’s auditor,

by 30th April in the following year”.

(4) In article 5 (requirement to keep records and provide information)(16), in paragraph (2)—

(a) before sub-paragraph (a) insert—

“(za) in relation to an authority in England, the claim is in accordance with the report of factual findings and with the relevant articles of this Order;”;

(b) at the beginning of sub-paragraph (a) insert “in relation to an authority in Wales or Scotland,”.

(5) After article 5 insert—

“Test and reporting requirement: authorities in England

5A.— (1) In relation to an authority in England and subject to article 9(4), the third condition is that the authority shall—

(a) inform the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of the authority’s reporting accountant by 1st March in the year before the relevant year;

(b) procure the test of the final claim by the reporting accountant;

(c) send the report of factual findings to the Secretary of State by 30th November in the year after the relevant year; and

(d) comply with the following provisions of this article.

(2) The authority shall—

(a) provide such information in written or electronic form;

(b) keep, and where asked to do so, produce records in written or electronic form with a bearing on its claim,

as may be required by the reporting accountant to enable the reporting accountant to test the claim and to complete the report of factual findings.

(3) Where the authority does not inform the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of its reporting accountant by 1st March in the year before the relevant year, the Secretary of State may withhold payment of subsidy until the authority—

(a) informs the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of its reporting accountant; or

(b) provides reasons for the delay which the Secretary of State regards as satisfactory.

(4) No final subsidy shall be paid until—

(a) the authority’s reporting accountant has confirmed in writing that the claim has been tested; and

(b) the Secretary of State has received the report of factual findings.”.

(6) In article 6 (requirement of audit)(17)—

(a) at the end of the heading insert “: authorities in Wales and Scotland”;

(b) in paragraph (1)—

(i) at the beginning insert “In relation to an authority in Wales or Scotland, and”;

(ii) omit sub-paragraphs (iza) and (ia).

(7) In article 8A (payment of subsidy before audit complete)(18)—

(a) before “audit”, in each place where that word occurs (including the heading), insert “test or”;

(b) in paragraph (1), after “yet been” insert “tested in accordance with article 5A or”.

(8) In article 9 (payment of subsidy for the relevant year)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (a) insert—

“(aa) in the case of an authority in England, the report of factual findings has been properly completed;”;

(ii) at the beginning of sub-paragraph (b) insert “in the case of an authority in Wales or Scotland,”;

(b) in paragraph (3), after “occurred” insert “or, as the case may be, once the report of factual findings has been sent to the Secretary of State”.

(9) In Schedule 6 (electronic communications)(19)—

(a) in paragraph 2, after “An authority”, in each place where those words occur, insert “, reporting accountant”;

(b) in paragraph 3(b), after “authorities” insert “, reporting accountants”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Justin Tomlinson

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department for Work and Pensions

6th September 2018

We consent.

Paul Maynard

Craig Whittaker

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

6th September 2018

Article 3(2)

SCHEDULE 1 Schedule to be substituted for Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order

Article 12(1)(b)

“SCHEDULE 1 Sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy

Relevant Year 2017-2018

Local authority	Administration subsidy (£)
England
Adur	229,183
Allerdale	348,444
Amber Valley	416,459
Arun	545,120
Ashfield	530,743
Ashford	438,562
Aylesbury Vale	548,334
Babergh	257,734
Barking and Dagenham	1,271,852
Barnet	1,884,335
Barnsley	997,647
Barrow-in-Furness	283,357
Basildon	808,939
Basingstoke and Deane	563,609
Bassetlaw	411,362
Bath and North East Somerset	572,150
Bedford	629,465
Bexley	906,013
Birmingham	6,500,559
Blaby	201,282
Blackburn with Darwen	644,754
Blackpool	1,060,048
Bolsover	322,908
Bolton	1,393,741
Boston	308,254
Bournemouth	954,763
Bracknell Forest	407,403
Bradford	2,399,552
Braintree	503,376
Breckland	478,854
Brent	2,246,191
Brentwood	194,570
Brighton and Hove	1,497,427
Bristol	2,225,899
Broadland	272,252
Bromley	1,179,334
Bromsgrove	222,631
Broxbourne	378,460
Broxtowe	331,435
Burnley	457,318
Bury	741,710
Calderdale	888,950
Cambridge	438,731
Camden	1,856,616
Cannock Chase	384,181
Canterbury	525,886
Carlisle	400,327
Castle Point	286,984
Central Bedfordshire	699,141
Charnwood	441,783
Chelmsford	464,885
Cheltenham	386,863
Cherwell	440,337
Cheshire East	1,075,137
Cheshire West and Chester	1,118,985
Chesterfield	505,328
Chichester	406,903
Chiltern	247,672
Chorley	335,748
Christchurch	168,512
City of London	99,687
Colchester	648,349
Copeland	267,421
Corby	326,202
Cornwall	2,318,680
Cotswold	257,366
Coventry	1,734,762
Craven	138,199
Crawley	603,690
Croydon	2,088,739
Dacorum	583,426
Darlington	534,777
Dartford	324,073
Daventry	194,366
Derby	1,169,718
Derbyshire Dales	186,403
Doncaster	1,378,487
Dover	470,230
Dudley	1,268,760
Durham	2,538,206
Ealing	2,178,676
East Cambridgeshire	255,347
East Devon	406,134
East Dorset	220,520
East Hampshire	303,191
East Hertfordshire	396,962
East Lindsey	641,503
East Northamptonshire	265,081
East Riding of Yorkshire	1,057,222
East Staffordshire	390,138
Eastbourne	502,622
Eastleigh	338,693
Eden	132,277
Elmbridge	374,025
Enfield	1,922,862
Epping Forest	418,490
Epsom and Ewell	196,479
Erewash	403,145
Exeter	504,265
Fareham	256,505
Fenland	412,549
Forest Heath	222,932
Forest of Dean	283,192
Fylde	255,665
Gateshead	1,151,734
Gedling	384,594
Gloucester	571,838
Gosport	398,271
Gravesham	404,246
Great Yarmouth	501,279
Greenwich	1,926,261
Guildford	369,620
Hackney	2,928,819
Halton	659,966
Hambleton	233,401
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,354,729
Harborough	153,541
Haringey	2,178,183
Harlow	491,224
Harrogate	351,090
Harrow	1,154,106
Hart	169,969
Hartlepool	646,713
Hastings	539,876
Havant	427,425
Havering	930,615
Herefordshire	620,381
Hertsmere	408,549
High Peak	305,979
Hillingdon	1,351,669
Hinckley and Bosworth	251,958
Horsham	333,638
Hounslow	1,276,627
Huntingdonshire	468,859
Hyndburn	407,260
Ipswich	693,063
Isle of Wight	636,970
Isles of Scilly	4,068
Islington	2,061,954
Kensington and Chelsea	1,162,761
Kettering	350,427
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	529,891
Kingston upon Hull	1,775,288
Kingston upon Thames	610,141
Kirklees	1,721,728
Knowsley	978,269
Lambeth	2,848,690
Lancaster	513,633
Leeds	4,014,496
Leicester	1,855,249
Lewes	342,879
Lewisham	2,616,998
Lichfield	249,311
Lincoln	530,979
Liverpool	3,340,547
Luton	1,072,212
Maidstone	536,619
Maldon	178,949
Malvern Hills	237,183
Manchester	3,562,339
Mansfield	468,243
Medway	1,084,359
Melton	132,864
Mendip	373,110
Merton	845,884
Mid Devon	247,297
Mid Suffolk	236,728
Mid Sussex	334,360
Middlesbrough	1,051,842
Milton Keynes	1,238,793
Mole Valley	221,623
New Forest	484,586
Newark and Sherwood	365,114
Newcastle-under-Lyme	430,064
Newcastle upon Tyne	1,516,416
Newham	2,050,990
North Devon	380,990
North Dorset	201,003
North East Derbyshire	346,094
North East Lincolnshire	813,662
North Hertfordshire	452,452
North Kesteven	301,461
North Lincolnshire	667,195
North Norfolk	353,345
North Somerset	750,121
North Tyneside	1,016,610
North Warwickshire	203,670
North West Leicestershire	305,698
Northampton	957,068
Northumberland	1,289,883
Norwich	886,315
Nottingham	2,050,955
Nuneaton and Bedworth	499,185
Oadby and Wigston	135,621
Oldham	1,069,693
Oxford	602,135
Pendle	406,978
Peterborough	1,052,444
Plymouth	1,380,638
Poole	533,225
Portsmouth	1,276,311
Preston	639,408
Purbeck	155,331
Reading	907,287
Redbridge	1,061,166
Redcar and Cleveland	758,980
Redditch	339,907
Reigate and Banstead	416,526
Ribble Valley	120,215
Richmond upon Thames	593,789
Richmondshire	117,505
Rochdale	1,117,737
Rochford	207,720
Rossendale	264,511
Rother	304,638
Rotherham	1,236,929
Rugby	306,578
Runnymede	235,859
Rushcliffe	233,558
Rushmoor	398,025
Rutland	82,911
Ryedale	155,585
Salford	1,546,037
Sandwell	1,785,188
Scarborough	527,027
Sedgemoor	438,725
Sefton	1,211,865
Selby	215,124
Sevenoaks	322,251
Sheffield	2,723,246
Shepway	475,590
Shropshire	962,065
Slough	793,334
Solihull	675,327
South Bucks	166,747
South Cambridgeshire	341,884
South Derbyshire	256,183
South Gloucestershire	755,258
South Hams	264,706
South Holland	299,277
South Kesteven	430,847
South Lakeland	258,011
South Norfolk	349,149
South Northamptonshire	171,564
South Oxfordshire	327,443
South Ribble	306,006
South Somerset	529,785
South Staffordshire	299,835
South Tyneside	1,024,450
Southampton	1,245,248
Southend-on-Sea	888,461
Southwark	2,415,195
Spelthorne	301,477
St Albans	376,310
St Edmundsbury	368,282
St Helens	918,027
Stafford	355,892
Staffordshire Moorlands	229,324
Stevenage	461,869
Stockport	990,068
Stockton-on-Tees	961,088
Stoke-on-Trent	1,380,973
Stratford-upon-Avon	346,374
Stroud	328,997
Suffolk Coastal	364,586
Sunderland	1,609,576
Surrey Heath	206,503
Sutton	738,895
Swale	605,942
Swindon	745,113
Tameside	1,199,715
Tamworth	302,490
Tandridge	250,916
Taunton Deane	411,198
Teignbridge	464,545
Telford and Wrekin	869,461
Tendring	718,769
Test Valley	342,642
Tewkesbury	228,835
Thanet	793,508
Three Rivers	282,704
Thurrock	724,102
Tonbridge and Malling	360,285
Torbay	801,393
Torridge	252,165
Tower Hamlets	2,477,528
Trafford	748,077
Tunbridge Wells	387,360
Uttlesford	189,059
Vale of White Horse	312,857
Wakefield	1,623,695
Walsall	1,492,813
Waltham Forest	1,631,449
Wandsworth	1,880,772
Warrington	632,786
Warwick	389,027
Watford	425,595
Waveney	497,180
Waverley	308,400
Wealden	364,746
Wellingborough	321,192
Welwyn Hatfield	485,335
West Berkshire	457,754
West Devon	176,324
West Dorset	335,019
West Lancashire	382,885
West Lindsey	342,040
West Oxfordshire	282,545
West Somerset	155,230
Westminster	1,751,809
Weymouth and Portland	337,508
Wigan	1,416,315
Wiltshire	1,380,896
Winchester	320,396
Windsor and Maidenhead	425,574
Wirral	1,598,521
Woking	275,126
Wokingham	241,437
Wolverhampton	1,490,701
Worcester	416,402
Worthing	415,699
Wychavon	363,600
Wycombe	525,451
Wyre	421,385
Wyre Forest	406,623
York	515,581
Wales
Blaenau Gwent	427,742
Bridgend	647,624
Caerphilly	841,409
Cardiff	1,715,562
Carmarthenshire	709,951
Ceredigion	259,604
Conwy	497,469
Denbighshire	452,289
Flintshire	495,582
Gwynedd	475,850
Isle of Anglesey	269,297
Merthyr Tydfil	340,249
Monmouthshire	284,605
Neath Port Talbot	689,622
Newport	760,425
Pembrokeshire	485,617
Powys	424,163
Rhondda Cynon Taf	1,093,067
Swansea	1,119,443
Torfaen	470,984
Vale of Glamorgan	483,514
Wrexham	601,022
Scotland
Aberdeen	824,970
Aberdeenshire	712,677
Angus	449,065
Argyll and Bute	404,355
Clackmannanshire	276,077
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	132,066
Dumfries and Galloway	737,663
Dundee	1,025,957
East Ayrshire	667,394
East Dunbartonshire	276,959
East Lothian	350,360
East Renfrewshire	225,112
Edinburgh	2,208,590
Falkirk	705,596
Fife	1,664,948
Glasgow	4,867,216
Highland	799,883
Inverclyde	492,472
Midlothian	348,918
Moray	312,938
North Ayrshire	818,701
North Lanarkshire	1,795,458
Orkney	86,456
Perth and Kinross	538,372
Renfrewshire	966,648
Scottish Borders	526,163
Shetland	68,489
South Ayrshire	561,055
South Lanarkshire	1,401,321
Stirling	297,380
West Dunbartonshire	652,110
West Lothian	820,886.”

Article 3(3)

SCHEDULE 2 New Schedule 1ZB to 1998 Order

Article 12(1)(bza)

“SCHEDULE 1ZB Additional amount of subsidy: Verify Earnings and Pension Alerts Service

Interpretation

1.   In this Schedule—

“relevant activities” means activities carried out by authorities receiving VEP alerts to administer those alerts;

“VEP alerts” means alerts given by the Secretary of State to authorities with a view to enabling authorities to prevent fraud and error arising from real time identification of changes of income.

Additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018

2.   The additional amount of subsidy for an authority for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018 is the amount specified for that authority in the Housing Benefit Circular HB S10/2018 published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 2nd May 2018(20).

Use of amount paid under paragraph 2

3.   An authority must use the additional amount received under paragraph 2 in connection with relevant activities.”

Article 4(3)

SCHEDULE 3 Substitution of Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order

“PART 3 WEEKLY RENT LIMITS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 2: AUTHORITIES IN ENGLAND

Relevant Year 2018-2019

Authority	Weekly rent limit (£)
Adur	93.67
Arun	90.45
Ashfield	68.12
Ashford	89.13
Babergh	89.11
Barking and Dagenham	97.75
Barnet	107.95
Barnsley	74.53
Barrow-in-Furness	74.87
Basildon	87.55
Bassetlaw	72.24
Birmingham	82.61
Blackpool	71.08
Bolsover	81.61
Bournemouth	83.32
Brent	115.86
Brentwood	94.22
Brighton and Hove	84.18
Bristol	80.90
Broxtowe	74.23
Bury	76.45
Cambridge	102.69
Camden	121.13
Cannock Chase	75.43
Canterbury	88.11
Castle Point	88.14
Central Bedfordshire	101.36
Charnwood	74.14
Cheltenham	80.14
Cheshire West and Chester	82.23
Chesterfield	79.50
City of London	106.20
City of York	79.15
Colchester	87.32
Corby	78.62
Cornwall	70.84
Crawley	102.93
Croydon	105.82
Dacorum	108.18
Darlington	70.84
Dartford	89.81
Derby	78.50
Doncaster	73.09
Dover	84.08
Dudley	82.54
Ealing	101.32
East Devon	81.52
East Riding of Yorkshire	79.09
Eastbourne	79.33
Enfield	101.10
Epping Forest	99.17
Exeter	75.13
Fareham	90.81
Gateshead	76.27
Gosport	83.63
Gravesham	89.44
Great Yarmouth	74.70
Greenwich	102.98
Guildford	110.47
Hackney	100.76
Hammersmith and Fulham	115.80
Haringey	106.19
Harlow	91.92
Harrogate	80.51
Harrow	113.57
Hartlepool	100.62
Havering	96.37
High Peak	73.03
Hillingdon	109.03
Hinckley and Bosworth	78.30
Hounslow	102.46
Ipswich	82.06
Islington	121.19
Isles of Scilly	80.09
Kensington and Chelsea	127.88
Kettering	81.26
Kingston upon Hull	74.98
Kingston upon Thames	112.18
Kirklees	69.66
Lambeth	108.68
Lancaster	77.13
Leeds	74.04
Leicester	71.72
Lewes	89.29
Lewisham	96.29
Lincoln	68.65
Luton	86.53
Manchester	74.13
Mansfield	73.01
Medway Towns	81.79
Melton	77.06
Mid Devon	78.55
Mid Suffolk	82.21
Milton Keynes	85.68
New Forest	99.28
Newark and Sherwood	77.98
Newcastle upon Tyne	75.07
Newham	97.67
North East Derbyshire	81.18
North Kesteven	76.36
North Tyneside	76.47
North Warwickshire	87.76
North West Leicestershire	78.89
Northampton	83.05
Northumberland	68.17
Norwich	79.22
Nottingham	74.88
Nuneaton and Bedworth	78.05
Oadby and Wigston	79.19
Oldham	79.33
Oxford City	108.92
Poole	84.98
Portsmouth	84.78
Reading	104.67
Redbridge	102.63
Redditch	77.97
Richmondshire	77.60
Rotherham	75.79
Rugby	86.53
Runnymede	110.22
Salford	80.25
Sandwell	81.28
Sedgemoor	77.57
Selby	78.21
Sheffield	71.78
Shepway	84.04
Shropshire	81.41
Slough	106.14
Solihull	82.13
South Cambridgeshire	106.87
South Derbyshire	79.81
South Holland	75.60
South Kesteven	78.67
South Tyneside	75.22
Southampton	84.68
Southend-on-Sea	85.75
Southwark	107.89
St Albans	113.74
Stevenage	97.80
Stockport	74.61
Stoke-on-Trent	70.37
Stroud	82.37
Sutton	106.95
Swindon	82.74
Tamworth	80.28
Tandridge	98.06
Taunton Deane	82.23
Tendring	83.82
Thanet	80.84
Thurrock	85.89
Tower Hamlets	110.64
Uttlesford	98.32
Waltham Forest	101.92
Wandsworth	124.78
Warwick	93.66
Waveney	80.20
Waverley	114.44
Wealden	84.65
Welwyn Hatfield	107.96
West Lancashire	76.06
Westminster	124.93
Wigan	76.89
Wiltshire	88.03
Winchester	101.19
Woking	104.18
Wokingham	115.22
Wolverhampton	79.69.”

Article 4(4)

SCHEDULE 4 Substitution of Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order

“PART 5 AMOUNTS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 4, PARAGRAPH 4: AUTHORITIES IN WALES

Relevant Year 2018-2019

Local authority	(1) Specified amount “O”(£)	(2) Guideline rent increase “P” (£)
Caerphilly	86.00	5.72
Cardiff	96.69	6.29
Carmarthenshire	85.56	5.68
Denbighshire	83.28	5.68
Flintshire	86.50	5.87
Isle of Anglesey	82.38	5.73
Pembrokeshire	86.83	5.36
Powys	87.41	5.67
Swansea	84.32	5.78
Vale of Glamorgan	93.60	6.09
Wrexham	85.61	5.73.”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/562) (“the 1998 Order”) which provides for the calculation and payment of housing benefit subsidy to local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland which administer housing benefit. Section 140F(2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5) authorises the making, revocation or varying of an Order before, during or after the year to which it relates.

Article 3(2) substitutes Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order with a new Schedule 1 prescribing the sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy for the year beginning 1st April 2017.

Article 3(1)(a) and (3) and Schedule 2 insert a new Schedule 1ZB which has effect for the purposes of determining additional amounts of subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2018. In particular, the new Schedule prescribes a system for the making of additional payments of subsidy to authorities administering alerts relating to the earnings and pension entitlement of claimants for housing benefit (“the VEP alert Service”), as notified by the Secretary of State to local authorities on 2nd May 2018.

In the VEP Alert Service, authorities are given funding to carry out activities to enable them to verify earnings and pension information based on their use of real time information. Some or all of the funding may be recovered if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the funding is not being used in connection with those activities. The amendments at article 3(1)(b) and (4) revoke provisions relating to the previous incentive scheme.

Article 4 has effect for the purposes of determining subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2018. Paragraph (2) amends paragraph 3 of Schedule 4A to provide that the rebate proportion figure for 2018/2019 is 0.756. Paragraph (3) substitutes Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order in respect of weekly rent limits for authorities in England. With respect to authorities in Wales, paragraph (4) substitutes Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order which sets out the specified amount “O” and the guideline rent increase “P” used when calculating deductions from subsidy under paragraph 4 in Part 4 of that Schedule.

The amendments in article 5 reflect new arrangements when local authorities in England claim final subsidy. Those authorities must firstly notify the Secretary of State of the identity of their reporting accountant who must test the claim in accordance with the Housing Benefit Assurance Process (set out on the Department for Work and Pensions website) alongside the authority for compliance with the provisions of the 1998 Order. The reporting accountant must then complete a report of factual findings on the claim which must be submitted the Secretary of State. Article 5 also makes amendments consequential on the new process.

Hard copies of the circulars and guidance referenced in this Order are available from the Department for Work and Pensions, Business Finance and Housing Delivery Directorate, Housing Delivery Division, Room 2.2.R, Peel Park, Blackpool FY4 5ES.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations.

(1)

1992 c.5. Sections 140B, 140C and 140F were inserted by section 121 of, paragraph 4 of Schedule 12 to the Housing Act 1996 (c.52). Section 140B was amended by sections 10 and 22 of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 (c.47) (“the Fraud Act”). Section 189(1) and (4) was amended by paragraph 109 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security Act 1998 (c.14). Section 189(4) was amended by S.I. 2013/252. Section 189(7) was amended by section 103 of, and paragraph 24 of Schedule 9 to, the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c.14) and paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Fraud Act. Sections 140B, 140F and 189 were repealed, to the extent they relate to council tax benefit, by section 147 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c.5) with effect from 1st April 2013 and subject to savings and transitional provisions in articles 9 and 10 of S.I. 2013/358.

(2)

Section 189(8) was amended by section 123 of, and paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 13 to, the Housing Act 1996, section 33 of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 3, and Schedule 4 to, the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (c.27), section 51 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to, the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c.21), section 5(2) of, and paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to, the Pensions Act 2007 (c.22) and section 2 of, and paragraph 57(1) and (3) of Schedule 3 to, the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) Act 1999 (c. 2).

(3)

Section 176(1) was amended by section 123 of, and paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 13 to, the Housing Act 1996 and section 69(6) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c.19). It was repealed, to the extent it relates to council tax benefit, by section 147 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 with effect from 1st April 2013 and subject to savings and transitional provisions in articles 9 and 10 of S.I. 2013/358.

(4)

S.I. 1998/562.

(5)

Article 12(1) was substituted by S.I. 2015/1784.

(6)

Article 12(1)(ba) was inserted by S.I. 2017/900.

(7)

Schedule 1 was substituted by S.I. 2017/900.

(8)

Schedule 1ZA was inserted by S.I. 2017/900.

(9)

Schedule 4A was inserted by S.I. 2004/646.

(10)

Paragraph 3(3) was substituted by S.I. 2017/900.

(11)

Part 3 of Schedule 4A was substituted by S.I. 2017/900.

(12)

Part 5 of Schedule 4A was substituted by S.I. 2017/900.

(13)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-assurance-process-hbap.

(14)

Article 3A was inserted by S.I. 2007/26.

(15)

Article 4(3) was amended by S.I. 2007/26 and 2014/1667.

(16)

Article 5 was substituted by S.I. 1998/2865 and amended by S.I. 2007/26.

(17)

Article 6 was amended by S.I. 2004/646, 2007/26, 2009/30 and 2017/900.

(18)

Article 8A was inserted by S.I. 2006/54.

(19)

Schedule 6 was substituted by S.I. 2007/26.

(20)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/704400/s10-2018.pdf