The Housing Renewal Grants (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend Part II of the Housing Renewal Grants Regulations 1996. Part II of the 1996 Regulations sets out a means test for determining the amount of renovation grant and disabled facilities grant which may be paid by local authorities to owner-occupier and tenant applicants under Chapter I of Part I of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (a test which is also applied to tenant participants in a tenants' application for common parts grant by section 32(5) of that Act). The amendments reflect recent changes in the housing benefit rules, upon which the means test in the 1996 Regulations is based, and make minor and drafting changes.

Regulations 3, 4, 7, 10 and 11 correct typographical errors and omissions.

Regulation 5 amends the definition of the applicable amount for cases where a person is in receipt of income support or an income-based job-seeker’s allowance.

Regulations 8 and 9 increase the maximum deduction for relevant child care charges to £100 per week where charges are paid in respect of more than one child and increase from 11 to 12 years the age of a child in respect of whom charges may be deducted.

Regulation 13 provides that a Career Development Loan shall be treated as income for the purposes of determining income other than earnings (and regulation 10 makes an amendment consequential on this).

Regulation 14 provides for the following to be excluded from a person’s notional income—

• certain compensation payments made to minors;

• coal compensation payments;

• certain payments made to providers under the New Deal.

Regulation 15 provides for the following to be excluded from a person’s notional capital—

• certain compensation payments made to minors;

• certain payments made to providers under the New Deal.

Regulation 16 increases the sum to be disregarded from a student’s grant income in respect of the cost of books and equipment.

Regulation 17 uprates the applicable amounts and premiums in Schedule 1 to the 1996 Regulations and removes the higher family premium applicable to a lone parent, subject to transitional provisions.

Regulation 18 provides for the sum of £25 to be disregarded in the calculation of the earnings of a lone parent.

Regulation 19 provides for the following to be disregarded in the calculation of a person’s income other than earnings—

• certain payments made under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996, the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1992 and the Employment and Training Act 1973; and

• certain payments made to New Deal participants.

Regulation 20 provides for certain payments of compensation to be disregarded for the purposes of calculating a person’s capital irrespective of whether the person is a minor and for certain payments made to New Deal participants also to be disregarded.

Regulation 21 contains transitional provisions.