The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Amendment (New Deal) Regulations 1998

Made: 2nd September 1998

Laid before Parliament: 8th September 1998

Coming into force: 29th September 1998

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 123(1)(d) and (e), 136(5)(a) and (b), 137(1) and 175(1) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992¹ and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with organisations appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of the authorities concerned² and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it³, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Amendment (New Deal) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 29th September 1998.

• (2) In these Regulations—

• “the Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992⁴;

• “the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987⁵.

Notional income

2

In both regulation 26 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations and regulation 35 of the Housing Benefit Regulations⁶ (which relate to notional income)—

• (a) in paragraph (3), for the words from the beginning to “regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations” there shall be substituted the words “Any payment of income, other than a payment of income specified in paragraph (3A)”;

• (b) after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(3A) Paragraph (3) shall not apply in respect of a payment of income made— (a) under the Macfarlane Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No.2) Trust, the Fund, the Eileen Trust or the Independent Living Funds; (b) pursuant to section 19(1)(a) of the Coal Industry Act 1994⁷ (concessionary coal); (c) pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973⁸ in respect of a person’s participation— (i) in an employment programme specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(ii) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996⁹; (ii) in a training scheme specified in regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations; or (iii) in a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of those Regulations¹⁰.

Notional capital

3

• (1) In regulation 34 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations¹¹ (which relates to notional capital)—

• (a) in paragraph (3), for the words from the beginning to “regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations” there shall be substituted the words “Any payment of capital, other than a payment of capital specified in paragraph (3A)”;

• (b) after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(3A) Paragraph (3) shall not apply in respect of a payment of capital made— (a) under the Trusts, the Fund, the Eileen Trust or the Independent Living Funds; (b) pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 in respect of a person’s participation— (i) in an employment programme specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(ii) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996; (ii) in a training scheme specified in regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations; or (iii) in a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of those Regulations.

• (2) In regulation 43 of the Housing Benefit Regulations¹² (which relates to notional capital)—

• (a) in paragraph (3), for the words from the beginning to “regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations” there shall be substituted the words “Any payment of capital, other than a payment of capital specified in paragraph (3A)”;

• (b) after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(3A) Paragraph (3) shall not apply in respect of a payment of capital made— (a) under the Macfarlane Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust, the Macfarlane (Special Payments) (No. 2) Trust, the Fund, the Eileen Trust or the Independent Living Funds; (b) pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 in respect of a person’s participation— (i) in an employment programme specified in regulation 75(1)(a)(ii) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996; (ii) in a training scheme specified in regulation 75(1)(b)(ii) of those Regulations; or (iii) in a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of those Regulations.

Income to be disregarded

4

• (1) After paragraph 66 of Schedule 4 to the Council Tax Benefit Regulations¹³ (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) there shall be added the following paragraph—

(67) (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any discretionary payment made pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 to meet, or help meet, special needs of a person who is undertaking a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996. (2) No amount shall be disregarded pursuant to sub-paragraph (1) in respect of travel expenses incurred as a result of the student’s attendance on the course where an amount in respect of those expenses has already been disregarded pursuant to regulation 46 (student’s income to be disregarded).

• (2) After paragraph 67 of Schedule 4 to the Housing Benefit Regulations¹⁴ (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) there shall be added the following paragraph—

(68) (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any discretionary payment made pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 to meet, or help meet, special needs of a person who is undertaking a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996. (2) No amount shall be disregarded pursuant to sub-paragraph (1) in respect of travel expenses incurred as a result of the student’s attendance on the course where an amount in respect of those expenses has already been disregarded pursuant to regulation 57 (student’s income to be disregarded).

Capital to be disregarded

5

At the end of Schedule 5 to both the Council Tax Benefit Regulations and to the Housing Benefit Regulations¹⁵ (which relate to capital to be disregarded), there shall be added the following paragraph—

(56) Any discretionary payment made pursuant to section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 to meet, or help meet, special needs of a person who is undertaking a qualifying course within the meaning specified in regulation 17A(7) of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 but only for the period of 52 weeks from the date of receipt of that payment.

Signed

Alistair Darling — Secretary of State for Social Security — 2nd September 1998

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend certain provisions in the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971) and in the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1814) in relation to those persons who are undertaking qualifying courses as defined for the purposes of Parts II and IV of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207) in regulation 17A(7) of those Regulations.

Regulations 2 to 5 provide that discretionary payments made to persons undertaking qualifying courses to meet, or help meet special needs, shall, for the purposes of those benefits, be disregarded for the purposes of assessing that person’s income or capital or, where such payments are made to third parties, shall not be taken into account as their notional income or notional capital.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.

Footnotes