The Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2018
Citation, commencement and interpretation1.
(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—
“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 Order2.
The 1998 Order is amended in accordance with articles 3 to 5.
The amount of an authority’s subsidy3.
(1)
(a)
“(bza)
the additional amount specified by Schedule 1ZB (additional amount of subsidy: verify earnings and pension alerts service); and”.
(b)
(2)
(3)
After the substituted Schedule 1 insert the Schedule 1ZB set out in Schedule 2 to this Order.
(4)
Rent rebate deductions from an authority’s subsidy4.
(1)
(2)
“(3)
The rebate proportion for 2018-19 is 0.756.”.
(3)
(4)
Subsidy claims made by authorities in England5.
(1)
““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 201813;”;
““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)
(a)
for “or auditor” substitute “a reporting accountant or an auditor”
(b)
after “claim,” insert “test,”.
(3)
“—
(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)
(a)
“(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)
“Test and reporting requirement: authorities in England5A.
(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)
(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)
(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)
“(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)
(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
We consent.
SCHEDULE 1Schedule to be substituted for Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order
“SCHEDULE 1Sums 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.”
SCHEDULE 2New Schedule 1ZB to 1998 Order
“SCHEDULE 1ZBAdditional 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 201820.Use of amount paid under paragraph 2
3.
An authority must use the additional amount received under paragraph 2 in connection with relevant activities.”
SCHEDULE 3Substitution of Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
“PART 3WEEKLY 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.”
SCHEDULE 4Substitution of Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
“PART 5AMOUNTS 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.”
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.