The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012

5.—(1) £20 is disregarded if the applicant or, if he has a partner, his partner— E+W

(a) is in receipt of—

(i) long-term incapacity benefit under section 30A of the SSCBA;

(ii) severe disablement allowance under section 68 of that Act;

(iii) attendance allowance under sections 64 to 70 of that Act;

(iv) disability living allowance;

(v) personal independence payment;

(vi) an AFIP;

(vii) any mobility supplement under article 20 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006 (including such a supplement by virtue of any other scheme or order) or under article 25A of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(1);

(viii) the disability element or the severe disability element of working tax credit under Schedule 2 to the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002(2); or

(ix) main phase employment and support allowance; or

(b) is or are registered as blind in a register compiled by a local authority under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948(3) or, in Scotland, has been certified as blind and in consequence is registered in a register maintained by or on behalf of a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994(4); or

(c) is, or is treated as, incapable of work in accordance with the provisions of, and regulations made under, Part 12A of the SSCBA(5) (incapacity for work), and has been incapable, or has been treated as incapable, of work for a continuous period of not less than—

(i) in the case of an applicant who is terminally ill within the meaning of section 30B(4) of the SSCBA(6), 196 days;

(ii) in any other case, 364 days; or

(d) has, or is treated as having, limited capacity for work within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 or limited capability for work-related activity within the meaning of section 2(5) of that Act and either—

(i) the assessment phase as defined in section 24(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 has ended; or

(ii) regulation 7 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008(7) (circumstances where the condition that the assessment phase has ended before entitlement to the support component or the work-related activity component arising does not apply) applies.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), £20 is disregarded if the applicant or, if he has a partner, his partner has, within a period of 8 weeks ending on the day in respect of which the applicant or his partner attains the qualifying age for state pension credit, had an award of housing benefit or council tax benefit or was in receipt of a reduction under an authority’s scheme (including under another authority’s scheme) and—

(a) £20 was disregarded in respect of earnings taken into account in that award; and

(b) the person whose earnings qualified for the disregard continues in employment after the termination of that award.

(3) The disregard of £20 specified in sub-paragraph (2) applies so long as there is no break, other than a break which does not exceed 8 weeks, in a person’s—

(a) entitlement to housing benefit; or

(b) receipt of a reduction under an authority’s (including under another authority’s) scheme; or

(c) employment,

following the first day in respect of which that benefit is awarded or the reduction given under that scheme.

(4) £20 is the maximum amount which may be disregarded under this paragraph, notwithstanding that, where the applicant has a partner, both the applicant and his partner satisfy the requirements of this paragraph.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 4 para. 5 in force at 27.11.2012, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

S.I. 1983/686.

(2)

S.I. 2002/2005.

(3)

1948 c. 29. Subsection (1) was amended by section 195 of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 23 to, the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) and section 108 of, and paragraph 11 of Schedule 13 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Children Act 1989 (c. 41). Other amendments have been made to this section but they are not relevant to these Regulations.

(4)

1994 c. 39; section 2 was amended by paragraph 232 of Schedule 22 to the Environment Act 1995 (c. 39).

(5)

Part 12A was inserted by section 5 of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c. 18) and amended by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c. 30). It was repealed by sections 28 and 67 of, and paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 and Schedule 8 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c. 5) but those provisions are not yet in force.

(6)

Section 30B(4) was inserted by section 2 of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 and amended by section 91 of, and paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule 9 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012, but those amendments are not yet in force. It has also been repealed by paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Welfare Reform Act 2007 but those provisions are not yet in force.

(7)

S.I. 2008/794; regulation 7 has been amended by S.I. 2008/3051, S.I. 2010/840, S.I. 2012/874 and S.I. 2012/919.