The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Regulations 2, 3, 8 and 9 amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207), the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213) and the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/215) so as to—

• provide that a person aged under 60, who does not take a payment from the Board of the Pension Protection Fund (“PPF”) which would be available to them is not treated as possessing the amount of any income or capital deferred;

• provide that payments made by the Board of the PPF to a third party may be regarded as notional income and notional capital;

• provide that payments from the Board of the PPF are not regarded as notional income or notional capital where the payment is not received by the claimant due to his or her bankruptcy.

Regulations 2 and 3 also amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations l996 so as to provide that a person aged 60 or over, who opts not to take a payment from the PPF available to him, shall be treated as possessing the amount of any income or capital foregone from the date on which it could be expected to be acquired were an application to be made.

Regulation 2 also amends the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 to remove Schedules 3 and 3A which make transitional provision for claimants who were either in board and lodging accommodation or hostel dwellers following the changes to income support and housing benefit in 1989.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 15(5) of the State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1792) adding PPF periodic payments, as defined in section 17(1) of the State Pension Credit Act 2002 (c. 16), to the descriptions of income which are prescribed for the purposes of section 15(1)(j) of that Act. It also protects transitional amounts paid to patients whose benefit is no longer reduced from 10th April 2006. Paragraph (4) amends a provision specifying a nil amount of state pension credit for patients with a prison sentence.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 8(2)(b) of the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3061) so that a person in respect of whom child benefit may be paid is a person who is excluded from the “immediate family member” and the “nature and extent of contact” tests for the purposes of a claim for a funeral payment.

Regulation 7 amends the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3360) to provide for paying a beneficiary’s increase for a dependant to a third party for the benefit of a child of the beneficiary if the beneficiary and dependant have been in hospital for 52 weeks or more.

Regulations 8 and 9 amend the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 and the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 so as to exclude payments made by the Board of the PPF from the regulations relating to notional capital. Regulation 8 also makes amendments to ensure that the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/214) make equivalent provision in relation to the possession of housing benefit at an altered rate and in relation to the date on which entitlement to housing benefit begins for people who live in hostels where rent is paid daily.

Regulations 5, 9(4), 11(4) and 12 make revocations and clarificatory amendments to ensure that the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 and the Council Tax Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/216) make equivalent provision in relation to the circumstances in which persons can qualify for the highest rate of alternative maximum council tax benefit. This is a form of council tax benefit payable in certain circumstances to persons who are not eligible for council tax benefit, or are entitled to less benefit, under the ordinary rules. They also ensure that all types of reduction are taken into account when calculating alternative maximum council tax benefit and that discounts are also taken into account in cases where the highest rate of alternative maximum council tax benefit applies.

Regulations 10 and 11 amend the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 and the Council Tax Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 so as, for people to whom those regulations apply, to make provision to take into account as income payments made by the Board of the PPF and to provide that payments made by the Board of the PPF to a third party may be regarded as notional income.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business, charities and voluntary bodies.