2018 No. 985
Social Security

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

Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
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 19921.
In accordance with section 189(8) of that Act2, the Secretary of State has obtained the consent of the Treasury.
In accordance with section 176(1) of that Act3, the Secretary of State has consulted with organisations appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of the authorities concerned.

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—

“the 1998 Order” means he Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 19984;

“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)

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 subsidy4.

(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 England5.

(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 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)

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 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)

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

We consent.

Paul Maynard
Craig Whittaker
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

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

Article 3(2)

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

Article 12(1)(b)

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

Article 3(3)

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

Article 12(1)(bza)

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

Article 4(3)

“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

Article 4(4)

“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.”

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.