Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972

17 (1) The Secretary of State may give directions, either generally or in any particular case, as to the application of Part II of this Act (including the last preceding Schedule and this Schedule) to persons who may be entitled to receive supplementary benefit or are or have been in receipt of such benefit, and to persons whose income or resources have been or may be aggregated for the purposes of this Act, or of the [1966 c. 20.] Ministry of Social Security Act 1966, with those of persons who may be entitled to receive supplementary benefit or are or have been in receipt of such benefit.

(2) Directions under this paragraph may in particular make provision as to—

(a) the beginning or ending of any rebate or allowance period;

(b) the procedures to be adopted in cases where a person is or may be entitled both to a rent rebate or a rent allowance and to supplementary benefit, and the method of disposing of any application for rent rebate or rent allowance which is pending when a person becomes entitled to supplementary benefit; and

(c) the method of dealing with cases where it is difficult to ascertain whether a person has been in receipt of supplementary benefit for more than eight weeks.

(3) Any direction under this paragraph shall have effect notwithstanding anything in Part I of this Schedule.