Commissioner's file: CH 2321 2002
DECISION OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER
The legal question in issue
Any payment made by a local authority to the claimant or his partner for a person ("the person concerned"), who is not normally a member of the claimant's household but is temporarily in his care, by
(a) a health authority;
(b) a local authority;
(c) a voluntary organisation; or
(d) the person concerned pursuant to section 26(3A) of the National Assistance Act 1948.
paragraph 26 to Schedule 4 to the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992, paragraph 27 of Schedule 9 to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987, paragraph 28 of Schedule 7 to the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996,
paragraph 24 of Schedule 2 to the Family Credit (General) Regulations 1987, and paragraph 24 of Schedule 3 to the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations 1991.
Background to the appeal
The tribunal decision
Grounds of appeal
The scope of paragraph 25
The application of paragraph 25
(a) to him,
(b) by one of the listed payers,
(c) for someone who is not normally a member of his household, and
(d) while that person is temporarily in the recipient's care.
I deal with each in turn.
(a) payment to the claimant
(b) payment by a listed payer
(c) "not normally a member of the household"
(d) "temporarily in his care"
… in my judgment the payments of housing benefit made under regulations 93 or 94 HB regulations to Mr S on behalf of his tenant do not count as payments within the meaning of paragraph 25. I do not accept that these were payments of the character envisaged by paragraph 25. As I have indicated, that paragraph seems to me to refer to payments made by the sponsoring organisation for the care of the person being placed. The direct payments of housing benefit is not of itself enough to bring a payment within paragraph 25.
My decision
The overpayment question
David Williams
Commissioner
30 January 2003
[Signed on the original on the date shown]