Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003
2003 No. 325
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003
Made 17th February 2003
Laid before Parliament 20th February 2003
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(1)
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the provisions specified in Schedule 1 to this Instrument and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned1, by this Instrument, which contains only regulations made by virtue of or consequential upon paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to, and in so far as it relates to that paragraph section 14 of, the State Pension Credit Act 20022and which is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of those provisions3, hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
General
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force—
(a)
(a) for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 30, on 6th April 2003;
(b)
(b) for all other purposes, on 6th October 2003.
(2) In these Regulations—
“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 19874;
“the Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 19925;
“the qualifying age for state pension credit” is (in accordance with section 1(2)(b) and (6) of the State Pension Credit Act)—
(a) in the case of a woman, pensionable age; or
(b) in the case of a man, the age which is pensionable age in the case of a woman born on the same day as the man;
“the State Pension Credit Act” means the State Pension Credit Act 2002.
(3) In Part 5 of these Regulations, references in any provision inserted—
(a)
(a) in the Housing Benefit Regulations to a regulation of or Schedule to those Regulations is to those provisions as modified or amended by these Regulations;
(b)
(b) in the Council Tax Benefit Regulations to a regulation of or Schedule to those Regulations is to those provisions as modified or amended by these Regulations.
PART 2
Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit Regulations
2.—(1) The Housing Benefit Regulations shall have effect, except where paragraph (2) applies, in relation to any person who has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit subject to the modifications set out in this Part, Part 4 and Schedule 2.
(2) This paragraph applies if the claimant or, if the claimant has a partner, his partner, is a person on income support or on an income-based jobseeker’s allowance within the meaning of the Housing Benefit Regulations6.
(3) In this Part, references to regulations and Schedules are, unless the context otherwise requires, references to regulations of and Schedules to the Housing Benefit Regulations.
Interpretation
3.—(1) In regulation 2 (interpretation), in paragraph (1)—
(a)
(a) for the definition of “assessment period”, substitute—
““assessment period” means the period determined—
(a) in relation to the earnings of a self-employed earner, in accordance with regulation 32 for the purpose of calculating the weekly earnings of the claimant; or
(b) in relation to any other income, in accordance with regulation 28 for the purpose of calculating the weekly income of the claimant;”;
(b)
(b) for the definition of “the benefit Acts”, substitute—
““the benefit Acts” means the Contributions and Benefits Act, the Jobseekers Act 19957and the State Pension Credit Act;”;
(c)
(c) after the definition of “benefit week”, insert—
““board and lodging accommodation” means accommodation provided to a person or, if he is a member of a family, to him or any other member of his family, for a charge which is inclusive of the provision of that accommodation and at least some cooked or prepared meals which both are cooked or prepared (by a person other than the person to whom the accommodation is provided or a member of his family) and are consumed in that accommodation or associated premises;
“care home” has the meaning it has for the purposes of the Care Standards Act 20008by virtue of section 3 of that Act and in Scotland means a care home service;
“care home service” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(3) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 20019;”;
(d)
(d) after the definition of “gateway office”10, insert—
““guarantee credit” is to be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 2 of the State Pension Credit Act;”;
(e)
(e) after the definition of “person on income support”, insert—
““person on state pension credit” means a person in receipt of state pension credit;”;
(f)
(f) after the definition of “retirement annuity contract” insert—
““savings credit” shall be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 3 of the State Pension Credit Act;”;
(g)
(g) after the definition of “self-employment route” insert—
““the State Pension Credit Act” means the State Pension Credit Act 2002;”.
(2) In that regulation, after paragraph (4A)11, insert—
“4B In these Regulations references to any person in receipt of a guarantee credit, a savings credit or state pension credit includes a reference to a person who would be in receipt thereof but for regulation 13 of the State Pension Credit Regulations 200212(small amounts of state pension credit).”.
Modification of regulation 5
4. In regulation 5 (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home) in paragraph (6)(c)(ii), for the words “or the claimant’s applicable amount includes a provision under paragraph 9, 9A,10,11, 13 or 14 of Schedule 2”, substitute “or the claimant is a person who has attained or whose partner has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit”.
Persons from abroad
5. In regulation 7A (persons from abroad), in paragraph (5), for sub-paragraph (d), substitute—
“(d)
“(d) is on state pension credit;”.
Applicable amounts
6.—(1) For regulations 16 (applicable amounts), 17 (polygamous marriages) and 18 (patients), substitute—
“Applicable amounts
16.—(1) Subject to regulations 69 and 70 and Schedule A1 (calculation of weekly amounts, rent free periods and treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees), the applicable amount of a claimant who has attained or whose partner has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit shall be the aggregate of such of the following amounts as apply in his case—
(a)
(a) an amount in respect of his personal allowance, determined in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 2A;
(b)
(b) an amount in respect of any child or young person who is a member of his family, determined in accordance with paragraph 2 of that Schedule;
(c)
(c) if he is a member of a family of which at least one member is a child or young person, an amount determined in accordance with paragraph 3(1) of Part II of that Schedule (family premium);
(d)
(d) if he is a member of a family of which one member is a child under the age of one year, an additional amount determined in accordance with paragraph 3(2) of Part II of that Schedule;
(e)
(e) the amount of any premiums which may be applicable to him, determined in accordance with Parts III and IV of that Schedule (premiums).
(2) Paragraph (3) applies in the case of—
(a)
(a) a claimant who; or
(b)
(b) a claimant who has a partner one or both of whom; or
(c)
(c) a claimant who is a member of a polygamous marriage one or more of whose members,
is or are a patient, and has or have been a patient for a period exceeding 13 weeks but not exceeding 52 weeks, or, in exceptional circumstances, is unlikely to substantially exceed 52 weeks (“long term patient”).
(3) In the case of a claimant to whom this paragraph applies and who—
(a)
(a) has no partner, the applicable amount determined in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be reduced by an amount equal to 38 per cent. of the weekly rate of the basic pension for the time being specified in section 44(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
(b)
(b) has a partner and either the claimant or his partner is a long term patient, the applicable amount determined in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be reduced by an amount equal to 20 per cent. of the weekly rate of the basic pension for the time being specified in section 44(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (“the standard reduction”);
(c)
(c) has a partner and both the claimant and his partner are long term patients, the applicable amount determined in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be reduced by an amount equal to twice the sum of the standard reduction;
(d)
(d) is a member of a polygamous marriage and one or more members of the marriage are long term patients, the applicable amount determined in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be reduced by an amount equal to the standard reduction multiplied by the number of members who are long term patients.
(4) Any calculation made for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be rounded to the nearest 5 pence, 2.5 pence being rounded to the next 5 pence above.
(5) In this regulation and Schedule 2A, “patient” means a person (other than a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a youth custody institution) who is regarded as receiving free in-patient treatment within the meaning of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 197513.
(6) In Schedule 2A, “additional spouse” means a spouse of either party to the marriage who is additional to the other party to the marriage.
(7) For the purposes of calculating the period of 13 weeks referred to in paragraph (2), where a person has been maintained free of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a...
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