Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make further amendments to the Family Credit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1973) in the following respects—
(a)they re-state the circumstances which constitute engagement and normal engagement in remunerative work, and provide for absence from work by way of holiday not preventing a claim for family credit during that time (regulation 3);
(b)they provide a revised method for calculating the average weekly income of employed earners (regulations 2(a) and (b), 4, 5, 7 and 8);
(c)they provide for statutory sick pay to be treated as earnings in all cases, for maternity allowance and statutory maternity pay to be disregarded as income in all cases, for certain payments to disabled workers to be disregarded both as income, capital or both and they re-state the circumstances in which payments from the Social Fund are to be disregarded as capital (regulations 6, 13 and 14);
(d)they amend the definition of “student” to exclude a person in receipt of a training allowance, they insert a definition of “training allowance” and further define the amount in respect of travel costs which is to be disregarded when calculating a student’s income (regulations 2(c) and 9 to 12);
(e)they provide that where claims for family credit by those working between 16 and 24 hours a week are made in the period of 4 weeks prior to 7th April 1992, the award period for any such claim will be at least 27 weeks and not more than 39 weeks (regulation 15);
(f)they make changes consequential upon the Children Act 1989 (regulation 16 and Schedule).