The Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) (Abolition of Benefit Periods Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Amendment of regulations 7 and 8 of the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations

22.—(1) In regulation 7(1) of the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(2) (decisions superseding earlier decisions) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –

(2A) An appropriate relevant authority may, upon its own initiative, make a decision under paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act in any case to which regulation 10A of the Housing Benefit Regulations (decisions) applies where –

(a)52 weeks have elapsed since it last made a decision under regulation 10A of the Housing Benefit Regulations in relation to the claim or award in question, or

(b)52 weeks have elapsed since –

(i)a decision was made under sub-paragraph (a), or

(ii)a decision was made under this sub-paragraph,

whichever last occurred..

(2) In regulation 8 of the Housing Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(3) (date from which a decision superseding an earlier decision takes effect) after paragraph (10) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs –

(11) Except in a case where entitlement to housing benefit ceases, where an appropriate relevant authority has made a decision in exercise of regulation 10A of the Housing Benefit Regulations, any decision to which regulation 7(2A) applies shall take effect from the first day following the last day of the period mentioned in regulation 7(2A)(a) or (b)..

(1)

Regulation 7 was amended by regulation 4(2) of S.R. 2003 No. 224

(2)

S.R. 2001 No. 213; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2002 No. 80 and S.R. 2003 No. 224

(3)

Regulation 8 was amended by regulation 8(5) of S.R. 2002 No. 80 and paragraph (10) was added by regulation 4(3) of S.R. 2003 No. 224