The Housing Benefit (Extended Payments (Severe Disablement Allowance and Incapacity Benefit) Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Insertion of Schedule 5B into the Housing Benefit Regulations

6.  After Schedule 5A to the Housing Benefit Regulations(1) (extended payments of housing benefit) there shall be inserted the following Schedule –

“SCHEDULE 5B EXTENDED PAYMENTS (SEVERE DISABLEMENT ALLOWANCE AND INCAPACITY BENEFIT) OF HOUSING BENEFIT

Condition for an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)

1.   The condition prescribed in this paragraph is that the claimant or the claimant’s partner –

(a) notifies either the designated office or an appropriate office that he or his partner –

(i) has commenced, or is about to commence, remunerative work;

(ii) has commenced, or is about to commence, receiving remuneration for work or an increased amount of remuneration for work, or

(iii) has commenced, or is about to commence, an increased number of hours of work,

so that entitlement to severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit ceases and that work, or as the case may be, remuneration, is expected to last 5 weeks or more, and

(b) the notification is made no later than 4 weeks after the day on which the claimant or his partner first undertakes the remunerative work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i), first receives remuneration for the work or an increased amount of remuneration for the work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(ii), or first commences the increased number of hours of work referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(iii).

Calculation and payment of an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)

2.— (1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) and except in the case of a mover, the amount of the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be equal to the amount of housing benefit which was payable to the claimant for the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit.

(2) In a case where the last benefit week referred to in sub-paragraph (1) fell, in whole or in part, within a rent and rate-free period, the last benefit week for the purposes of that sub-paragraph shall be taken to be the last benefit week that did not fall within a rent and rate-free period.

(3) Where the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit was a week in which the claimant’s eligible rent or rates was calculated in accordance with regulation 69(5)(c)(calculation of weekly amounts), sub-paragraph (1) shall have effect as if the reference to the last benefit week before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit was a reference to the week before that week.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the extended payment (severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit) shall be payable for each of the weeks in the period specified in regulation 62ZB(6)(a), and shall be paid at such time and in such manner as is appropriate, having regard to –

(a) the times at which and the frequency with which a person’s liability to make payment of rent or rates arises, and

(b) the reasonable needs and convenience of the person entitled thereto.

(5) No extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be payable for a week which is a rent and rate-free period for the purposes of regulation 70(1) (rent and rate-free periods).

Movers

3.   Paragraphs 4 to 6 apply to movers from –

(a) the day the move takes place where that day is a Monday, or

(b) from the Monday following the day the move takes place where that day is not a Monday.

Movers and rent allowances

4.— (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), in the case of a mover whose housing benefit was in the form of a rent allowance, the Executive shall make an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) to that mover calculated on the same basis as in paragraph 2, and, for these purposes, the mover shall be treated as continuing to occupy and be liable to make payments in respect of the dwelling he was occupying as his home immediately before he ceased to be entitled to housing benefit.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), in a case where that mover’s liability to make payments in respect of the second dwelling would be to the Executive, any extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be made by the Executive and shall be determined as provided in paragraph 6(b).

Movers and rent and rate rebates

5.   Where, in the case of a mover –

(a) his housing benefit was in the form of a rent and rate rebate, and

(b) he claims an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit),

the Executive shall, upon receiving the mover’s claim for an extended payment (severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefit), which meets the requirements of regulation 62ZB(1), make an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit), calculated in accordance with paragraph 6, to that mover.

Movers and extended payments (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)

6.   In a case to which paragraph 4(2) or 5 applies and where a mover’s liability referred to in that paragraph is –

(a) other than to the Executive, the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be a payment by way of rent allowance calculated in accordance with paragraph 2;

(b) to the Executive, the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be by way of a rent and rates rebate to the value of the lesser of –

(i) such part of the rent and rates in respect of the period specified in regulation 62ZB(6)(a) as is eligible for housing benefit, calculated in accordance with regulations 8 to 11, less, in a case where the rebate to which paragraph 5 refers, or the rent allowance to which paragraph 4 refers, as the case may be, was subject to any deductions in respect of non-dependants pursuant to regulations 61(b)(2) and 63(3), the amount of those deductions, or

(ii) the amount of extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) calculated in accordance with paragraph 2.

Maximum housing benefit

7.   The maximum housing benefit of a mover the amount of whose extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) is calculated in accordance with paragraph 6(b)(i) shall be calculated in accordance with regulation 61(1), save that no deduction shall be made in respect of non-dependants, other than any that fall to be taken into account pursuant to paragraph 6(b)(i).

Movers and rate rebates

8.   In the case of a mover whose housing benefit was in the form of a rate rebate only the extended payment shall be by way of a discharge to the value of such part of the liability to rates for the period specified in regulation 62A(5)(a), less, in a case where the rebate to which paragraph 5 refers was subject to any deductions in respect of non-dependants pursuant to regulation 61(b) and 63, the amount of those deductions.

Movers with two homes

9.   Subject to paragraph 10, any extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) shall be without prejudice to any entitlement the claimant may have pursuant to regulation 5(5)(4) (circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home).

Adjustment of entitlement in respect of an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)

10.   Where for any week –

(a) a person is entitled to an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit), and

(b) he also claims and is awarded housing benefit,

then the amount of the housing benefit payable in respect of that week shall be reduced by a sum equal to the amount of the extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit) and only the balance, if any, shall be payable to him for that week.

Interpretation

11.   In this Schedule –

“claimant” means a person claiming an extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit);

“mover” means a claimant who changes the dwelling which he occupies as his home in respect of which he is liable or treated as liable to make payments;

“second dwelling” means the dwelling to which a person has moved, or is about to move, which he is or will be occupying as his new home, and where the liability to make payments of rent or rates or both in respect of his dwelling follows on immediately from the liability to make payments of rent or rates or both of his previous dwelling.”.

(1)

Schedule 5A was inserted by regulation 6 of S.R. 1996 No. 115

(2)

Relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1990 No. 345, S.R. 1992 No. 549 and S.R. 2001 No. 215

(3)

Relevant amending Rules are S.R. 1989 No. 125, S.R. 1990 Nos. 136 and 345 , S.R. 1992 Nos. 85, 404 and 549, S.R. 1993 Nos. 145, 195 and 233, S.R. 1996 No. 334, S.R. 1997 No. 3, S.R. 1998 No. 81, S.R. 2000 No. 38 and S.R. 2002 No. 99

(4)

Relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1992 No. 549, S.R. 1993 No. 145 and S.R. 1997 No. 412