Fines (Deductions from Income Support) Regulations 1992

Reference to adjudication officer

4.—(1) Where the Secretary of State receives an application from a court in respect ofan offender, he shall, subject to regulation 7(4), refer it forthwith to an adjudication officer who shall determine the following questions—

(a) whether there is sufficient entitlement to income support to enable the Secretary of State to make any deduction at a rate of 5 per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25;

(b) the priority of any sum to be deducted as against any payments to third parties where there is insufficient entitlement to income support to meet both any deduction under regulation 6 and to make payments to third parties and where there is such an insufficiency of entitlement to income support the following priorities shall apply—

(i) any liability mentioned in paragraph 3(5)

• of Schedule 9A (mortgage interest) to the Claims and Payments Regulations;

(ii) any liability mentioned in paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 (housing costs) to those Regulations;

(iii) any liability mentioned in paragraph 5 of Schedule 9 (service charges for fuel, and rent not falling within paragraph 2(1)(a)) to those Regulations;

(iv) any liability mentioned in paragraph 6 of Schedule 9 (fuel costs) to those Regulations;

(v) any liability mentioned in paragraph 7 of Schedule 9 (water charges) to those Regulations;

(vi) any liability for arrears in respect of community charges mentioned in regulation 2 of the Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (No. 2) Regulations 1990 or regulation 2 of the Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) Scotland Regulations 1989(1)(deductions from income support);

(vii) any liability mentioned in regulation 6.

(2) The adjudication officer shall determine there is sufficient entitlement to income support if—

(a) the amount payable by way of income support after any deduction to be made under regulation 6 is 10 pence or more; and

(b) where payments to third parties are being made, the aggregate amount of any payments under paragraphs 3(2)(a), 5(6), 6(2)(a), 7(3)(a) and 7(5)(a) of Schedule 9 and paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 9A to the Claims and Payments Regulations together with the amount to be deducted under regulation 6 does not exceed an amount equal to 3 times 5 per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25 years.

(3) The adjudication officer shall determine these questions, so far as is practicable, within 14 days of receipt of the reference from the Secretary of State.

(1)

S.I. 1989/507.