The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Abolition of Benefit Periods) Amendment Regulations 2004
| Year | 2004 |
2004 No. 14
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Abolition of Benefit Periods) Amendment Regulations 2004
Made 7th January 2004
Laid before Parliament 12th January 2004
Coming into force 5th April 2004
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the provisions specified in the Schedule to these Regulations and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned1, and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it2hereby 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 (Abolition of Benefit Periods) Amendment Regulations 2004 and shall come into force on 5th April 2004.
(2) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 20003;
“appropriate relevant authority” has the same meaning as in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“benefit period” has the same meaning as in regulation 66 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 57 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations as the case may be, as in force immediately before 5th April 2004;
“the Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 19924;
“Housing Act functions” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations;
“relevant authority” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations;
“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 19875.
PART 2
Amendment of Housing Benefit Regulations and Council Tax Benefit Regulations
Amendment of regulation 2 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 2 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
2. In regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations (interpretation) and regulation 2(1) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (interpretation) the definition of “benefit period” shall be omitted.
Amendment of regulation 7 of the Housing Benefit Regulations
3. In regulation 7(10)6of the Housing Benefit Regulations (circumstances in which a person is to be treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling) the words from “except” to the end of the paragraph shall be omitted.
Amendment of regulation 11 of the Housing Benefit Regulations
4. In regulation 11(6)7of the Housing Benefit Regulations (maximum rent)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (b) for the words “benefit period” there shall be substituted “award of housing benefit”; and
(b) for the words after sub-paragraph (b) there shall be substituted—
“then—
(i)
(i) the maximum rent shall not be reduced, where the sum is not less than the maximum rent, during a period ending on the effective date of a decision adopting a determination of a rent officer where that determination was made in exercise of the Housing Act functions pursuant to an application by the authority under regulation 12A(1)(c), (d) or (e); and
(ii)
(ii) the maximum rent shall be reduced to an amount equal to that sum, where that sum is less than the maximum rent during a period ending on the effective date of a decision adopting a determination of a rent officer where that determination was made in exercise of the Housing Act functions pursuant to an application by the authority under regulation 12A(1)(c), (d) or (e).”.
Amendment of regulation 12A of the Housing Benefit Regulations
5. In regulation 12A8of the Housing Benefit Regulations (requirement to refer to rent officers)—
(a) in paragraph (1)—
(i) the words “it has received” shall be omitted;
(ii) at the beginning of sub-paragraphs (a), (aa), (b) and (c) the words “it has received” shall be inserted; and
(iii) after sub-paragraph (c), there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraphs—
“(d)
“(d) 52 weeks have elapsed since it last made an application under sub-paragraph (a), (aa) or (b) above in relation to the claim or award in question; or
(e)
(e) 52 weeks have elapsed since—
(i) an application was made under sub-paragraph (d) above; or
(ii) an application was made under this sub-paragraph,
whichever last occurred.”; and
(b) in paragraph (3)—
(i) the words “the appropriate local authority receiving” shall be omitted;
(ii) at the beginning of sub-paragraphs (a), (aa) and (b) the words “the relevant authority receiving” shall be inserted; and
(iii) after sub-paragraph (b), there shall be inserted—
“or
(c)
(c) the day on which the period mentioned in paragraph (1)(d) or (e) elapsed.”.
Amendment of regulation 21 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 13 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
6. In regulation 21(1)(a)9of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 13(1)(a)10of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (calculation of income on a weekly basis) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted.
Amendment of regulation 21A of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 13A of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
7. In regulation 21A(3)11of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 13A(3)12of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (treatment of childcare charges) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted.
Amendment of regulation 22 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 14 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
8.—(1) In regulation 2213of the Housing Benefit Regulations (average weekly earnings of employed earners)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (1)(b) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted; and
(b)
(b) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted—
“Where the amount of a claimant’s earnings changes during an award the relevant authority shall estimate his average weekly earnings by reference to his likely earnings from the employment over such period as is appropriate in order that his average weekly earnings may be estimated accurately but the length of the period shall not in any case exceed 52 weeks.”.
(2) In regulation 1414of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (average weekly earnings of employed earners)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (1)(b) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted; and
(b)
(b) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted—
“Where the amount of a claimant’s earnings changes during an award the relevant authority shall estimate his average weekly earnings by reference to his likely earnings from the employment over such period as is appropriate in order that his average weekly earnings may be estimated accurately but the length of the period shall not in any case exceed a year.”.
Amendment of regulation 23 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 15 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
9. In regulation 23(1)15of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 15(1)16of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (average weekly earnings of self-employed earners) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted.
Amendment of regulation 24 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 16 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations
10. In regulation 24(1)17of the Housing Benefit Regulations and regulation 16(1) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations (average weekly income other than earnings) the words “over the benefit period” shall be omitted.
Extended payments
11.—(1) Subject to regulation 28 (saving provision for extended payments), for regulation 62A18of the Housing Benefit Regulations (extended payments) there shall be substituted—
“62A.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (8) paragraph (2) shall apply where—
(a)
(a) a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit—
(i) in accordance with regulation 65A(1) (date on which housing benefit is to end); and
(ii) the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 5A are satisfied in his case; or
(b)
(b) a person ceases to be entitled to housing benefit because he has vacated the dwelling which he occupied as his home and the day on which he did so was either in the week in which he took up employment as an employed or self-employed earner, or in the preceding week, and—
(i) he ceased to be entitled to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance by reason of taking up employment as an employed or self-employed earner; and
(ii) the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 5A are satisfied in his case.
(2) A person to whom paragraph (1) applies shall be treated as having made a claim under this regulation and his housing benefit shall be determined in accordance with Part II of Schedule 5A and any award so determined shall be referred to in these Regulations as an “extended payment”.
(3) For the purposes of any payment pursuant to this regulation—
(a)
(a) except in a case to which paragraph 8(b) of Schedule 5A applies, the maximum...
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