The Housing Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2000

Statutory Instruments

2000 No. 638

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Housing Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2000

Made

7th March 2000

Laid before Parliament

10th March 2000

Coming into force

1st April 2000

The Secretary of State for Social Security in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 137(2)(h) and 175(1), (3) and (4) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned(2) and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it(3), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st April 2000.

Amendment of regulation 5 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987

2.  In regulation 5 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home)(4) after paragraph (4) there shall be inserted the following paragraph–

“(4A) Where a person is required to reside in a dwelling which is a bail hostel or probation hostel approved by the Secretary of State under section 27 of the Probation Service Act 1993(5), he shall not be treated as occupying that dwelling as his home.”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Angela Eagle

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of Social Security

7th March 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend regulation 5 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971) (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home).

Regulation 2 provides that a person who is required to reside in a dwelling which is an approved bail hostel or approved probation hostel shall not be treated as occupying that dwelling as his home. The effect is that a person will not be entitled to housing benefit in respect of that dwelling.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.

(1)

1992 c. 4.

(2)

See the Social Security Administration Act 1992 section 176(1).

(3)

See the Social Security Administration Act 1992 section 172(1).

(4)

S.I. 1987/1971; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1989/1017, 1990/546 and 1549, 1991/235, 1992/3147, 1993/317, 1995/560, 625 and 2303, 1997/2197 and 1998/563.

(5)

1993 c. 47.