Made | 26th March 2004 | ||
Coming into operation in accordance with regulation 1(1) |
(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954[8] shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
Amendment of regulation 2 of the Housing Benefit Regulations
2.
In regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit Regulations (interpretation) after "extended payment"[9] there shall be inserted the following definition -
Extended payments (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)
3.
After regulation 62A of the Housing Benefit Regulations[10] (extended payments) there shall be inserted the following regulation -
(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 -
(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 Schedule 5B and any award so determined shall be referred to in these regulations as an "extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)".
(3) For the purposes of any payment pursuant to this regulation -
(4) Regulations 71, 72 and 73 (claims, evidence and information) shall not apply to a claim pursuant to this regulation and, subject to regulation 69(9)[13], Part IX (calculation of weekly amounts) shall not apply to any payment under it.
(5) In paragraph (1) references to a "person" include references to a person's partner and references to taking up employment include receiving remuneration for employment or an increased amount of remuneration for employment or engaging in employment for an increased number of hours.
(6) In a case where payment has been made under this regulation -
whichever occurs first, and
(b) any claim for housing benefit made by the beneficiary within the period which under sub-paragraph (a) applies in his case or the 4 weeks thereafter shall be treated as having been made in respect of a period beginning immediately after the end of his previous award of housing benefit.".
Date on which award of benefit is to end where entitlement to severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit ceases
4.
After regulation 65A of the Housing Benefit Regulations[15] (date on which housing benefit is to end) there shall be inserted the following regulation -
(c) the claimant had been entitled to and in receipt of severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks before the day on which his entitlement to severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit ceased, and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph -
(d) that work, increase in earnings, or as the case may be, increase in hours is expected to last at least 5 weeks or more.".
Amendment of regulation 69 of the Housing Benefit Regulations
5.
In regulation 69(9) of the Housing Benefit Regulations (calculation of weekly amounts) -
Insertion of Schedule 5B into the Housing Benefit Regulations
6.
After Schedule 5A to the Housing Benefit Regulations[16] (extended payments of housing benefit) there shall be inserted the following Schedule -
so that entitlement to severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit ceases and that work, or as the case may be, remuneration, is expected to last 5 weeks or more, and
(b) the notification is made no later than 4 weeks after the day on which the claimant or his partner first undertakes the remunerative work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i), first receives remuneration for the work or an increased amount of remuneration for the work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(ii), or first commences the increased number of hours of work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(iii).
Calculation and payment of an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)
2.
- (1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) and except in the case of a mover, the amount of the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be equal to the amount of housing benefit which was payable to the claimant for the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit.
(2) In a case where the last benefit week referred to in sub-paragraph (1) fell, in whole or in part, within a rent and rate-free period, the last benefit week for the purposes of that sub-paragraph shall be taken to be the last benefit week that did not fall within a rent and rate-free period.
(3) Where the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit was a week in which the claimant's eligible rent or rates was calculated in accordance with regulation 69(5)(c)(calculation of weekly amounts), sub-paragraph (1) shall have effect as if the reference to the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit was a reference to the week before that week.
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the extended payment (severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit) shall be payable for each of the weeks in the period specified in regulation 62ZB(6)(a), and shall be paid at such time and in such manner as is appropriate, having regard to -
(5) No extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be payable for a week which is a rent and rate-free period for the purposes of regulation 70(1) (rent and rate-free periods).
Movers
3.
Paragraphs 4 to 6 apply to movers from -
Movers and rent allowances
4.
- (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), in the case of a mover whose housing benefit was in the form of a rent allowance, the Executive shall make an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) to that mover calculated on the same basis as in paragraph 2, and, for these purposes, the mover shall be treated as continuing to occupy and be liable to make payments in respect of the dwelling he was occupying as his home immediately before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit.
(2) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), in a case where that mover's liability to make payments in respect of the second dwelling would be to the Executive, any extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be made by the Executive and shall be determined as provided in paragraph 6(b).
Movers and rent and rate rebates
5.
Where, in the case of a mover -
the Executive shall, upon receiving the mover's claim for an extended payment (severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit), which meets the requirements of regulation 62ZB(1), make an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit), calculated in accordance with paragraph 6, to that mover.
Movers and extended payments (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)
6.
In a case to which paragraph 4(2) or 5 applies and where a mover's liability referred to in that paragraph is -
Maximum housing benefit
7.
The maximum housing benefit of a mover the amount of whose extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) is calculated in accordance with paragraph 6(b)(i) shall be calculated in accordance with regulation 61(1), save that no deduction shall be made in respect of non-dependants, other than any that fall to be taken into account pursuant to paragraph 6(b)(i).
Movers and rate rebates
8.
In the case of a mover whose housing benefit was in the form of a rate rebate only the extended payment shall be by way of a discharge to the value of such part of the liability to rates for the period specified in regulation 62A(5)(a), less, in a case where the rebate to which paragraph 5 refers was subject to any deductions in respect of non-dependants pursuant to regulation 61(b) and 63, the amount of those deductions.
Movers with two homes
9.
Subject to paragraph 10, any extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be without prejudice to any entitlement the claimant may have pursuant to regulation 5(5)[19] (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home).
Adjustment of entitlement in respect of an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)
10.
Where for any week -
then the amount of the housing benefit payable in respect of that week shall be reduced by a sum equal to the amount of the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) and only the balance, if any, shall be payable to him for that week.
Interpretation
11.
In this Schedule -
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on
26th March 2004.
L.S.
John O'Neill
Senior Officer of the Department for Social Development
The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on
29th March 2004.
L.S.
Ciaran Doran
Senior Officer of the Department of Finance and Personnel
[3] See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481back
[4] See section 171(6A) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 as inserted by Article 3(3) of the Social Security (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1579 (N.I. 8)); see also Article 6(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481back
[5] See section 150(1)(b) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992back
[7] S.R. 1987 No. 461; relevant amending Rules are S.R. 1989 No. 125, S.R. 1990 Nos. 136 and 345 , S.R. 1992 Nos. 85, 404 and 549, S.R. 1993 Nos. 145, 195 and 233, S.R. 1996 Nos. 111, 115 and 334, S.R. 1997 Nos. 3 and 412, S.R. 1998 No. 81, S.R. 2000 No. 38, S.R. 2001 No. 215, S.R. 2002 No. 99 and S.R. 2004 No. 144back
[9] Definition of "extended payment" was inserted by regulation 2 of S.R. 1996 No. 115back
[10] Regulation 62A was substituted by regulation 10 of S.R. 2004 No. 144back
[11] Regulation 65B is inserted by regulation 4 of these Regulationsback
[12] Schedule 5B is inserted by Schedule 1 to these Regulationsback
[13] Regulation 69(9) was added by regulation 4 of S.R. 1996 No. 115back
[15] Regulation 65A was inserted by regulation 11 of S.R. 2004 No. 144back
[16] Schedule 5A was inserted by regulation 6 of S.R. 1996 No. 115back
[17] Relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1990 No. 345, S.R. 1992 No. 549 and S.R. 2001 No. 215back
[18] Relevant amending Rules are S.R. 1989 No. 125, S.R. 1990 Nos. 136 and 345 , S.R. 1992 Nos. 85, 404 and 549, S.R. 1993 Nos. 145, 195 and 233, S.R. 1996 No. 334, S.R. 1997 No. 3, S.R. 1998 No. 81, S.R. 2000 No. 38 and S.R. 2002 No. 99back
[19] Relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1992 No. 549, S.R. 1993 No. 145 and S.R. 1997 No. 412back