The Housing Benefit (Community Charge Rebates) (Scotland) Regulations 1988

PART I GENERAL

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Community Charge Rebates) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force for the purposes of regulations 1, 58 to 63 (claims) and 90 (exchange of information) on 23rd November 1988 and for all other purposes on 1st April 1989. (2) These Regulations apply in relation to housing benefit in the form of a community charge rebate to which section 28(1)(aa) of the Act refers and accordingly–

(a) save in regulations 25(3)(a), 33(3)(a), 60(a) and 90(1), in Schedule 3 paragraphs 35 and 36 and in Schedule 4 paragraph 28, any reference in these Regulations to housing benefit is a reference only to housing benefit in that form; and

(b) the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987(1) and, save as provided in regulation 90 of these Regulations, the Housing Benefit (Supply of Information) Regulations 1988(2) shall not apply to housing benefit in that form and any reference to housing benefit excludes, save as so provided, a reference to housing benefit in that form.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

“the Act” means the Social Security Act 1986;

“the 1987 Act” means the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc (Scotland) Act 1987(3);

“appropriate authority” means the appropriate levying authority to which section 28(3A) of the 1986 Act refers(4);

“appropriate social security office” means an office of the Department of Social Security which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for income support and includes an office of the Department of Employment which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for unemployment benefit;

“assessment period” means such period as is prescribed in regulations 12 to 14 over which income falls to be calculated;

“attendance allowance” means–

(a)

an attendance allowance under section 35 of the Social Security Act(5);

(b)

an increase of disablement pension under section 61 of that Act(6);

(c)

a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by section 159(3)(b) of that Act;

(d)

an increase of an allowance which is payable in respect of constant attendance under section 5 of the Industrial Injuries and Diseases (Old Cases) Act 1975(7);

(e)

a payment by virtue of article 14, 15, 16, 43 or 44 of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(8) or any analogous payment;

(f)

any payment based on need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension;

“benefit period” has the meaning given to it in regulation 53;

“benefit week” means a period of 7 consecutive days commencing on a Monday and ending on a Sunday;

“child” means a person under the age of 16;

“claim” means a claim for housing benefit in the form of a community charge rebate;

“claimant” means a person claiming housing benefit in the form of a community charge rebate;

“collective community charge contribution” means a payment to which section 11(11) of the 1987 Act(9) refers;

“concessionary payment” means a payment made under arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury which is charged either to the National Insurance Fund or to a Departmental Expenditure Vote to which payments of benefit under the Act, the Social Security Act or the Child Benefit Act 1975(10) are charged;

“designated office” means the office designated by the appropriate authority, by way of notice upon a form approved by them for the purpose of claiming housing benefit, for the receipt of claims to housing benefit;

“earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 18 or, as the case may be, 20;

“employed earner” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(a) of the Social Security Act;

“family” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20(11) of the Act;

“housing benefit”, is to be construed in accordance with regulation1(2)(a);

“invalid carriage or other vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by a petrol engine or by electric power supplied for use on the road and to be controlled by the occupant;

“lone parent” means a person who is not a partner and who is responsible for and a member of the same household as a child or young person;

“married couple” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20(11) of the Act;

“member of a couple” means a member of a married or unmarried couple;

“mobility allowance” means an allowance under section 37A of the Social Security Act(11);

“mobility supplement” means a supplement to which paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 refers;

“net earnings” means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 19;

“net profit” means such profit as is calculated in accordance with regulation 21;

“non-dependant” means a person to whom regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987(12) refers;

“occupational pension” means any pension or other periodical payment under an occupational pension scheme but does not include any discretionary payment out of a fund established for relieving hardship in particular cases;

“partner” means–

(a)

where a claimant is a member of a married or unmarried couple, the other member of that couple; or

(b)

where a claimant is polygamously married to two or more members of his household, any such member to whom he is so married;

“payment” includes part of a payment;

“person affected” means any person (including the appropriate authority) whose rights, duties or obligations are affected by a determination, whether or not on review, or by a decision on further review;

“person on income support” means a person in receipt of income support;

“policy of life insurance” means any instrument by which the payment of money is assured on death (except death by accident only) or by the happening of any contingency dependent on human life, or any instrument evidencing a contract which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life;

“polygamous marriage” means any marriage to which section 28(11) of the Act refers(13);

“registered student” means a student who does not satisfy the condition of entitlement for housing benefit in respect of a personal community charge in section 20(7A) of the Act because his name is shown in a community charges register as undertaking a full time course of education on any day in respect of which housing benefit is claimed;

“remunerative work” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 3;

“self-employed earner” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(1)(b) of the Social Security Act;

“single claimant” means a claimant who neither has a partner nor is a lone parent;

“Social Security Act” means the Social Security Act 1975(14);

“student” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 36;

“the Independent Living Fund” means the charitable trust established out of funds provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing financial assistance to those persons incapacitated by or otherwise suffering from very severe disablement who are in need of such assistance to enable them to live independently;

“the Macfarlane Trust” means the charitable trust, established partly out of funds provided by the Secretary of State to the Haemophiliac Society, for the relief of poverty or distress among those suffering from haemophilia;

“unmarried couple” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20(11) of the Act;

“year of assessment” has the meaning prescribed in section 832(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(15);

“young person” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 4(1).

(2) In Schedule 4 references to a claimant occupying a dwelling or premises as his home shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987.

(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference–

(a) to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number;

(b) to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in, or the Schedule to, these Regulations bearing that number;

(c) in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(d) in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

Remunerative work

3.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, a person shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as engaged in remunerative work if he is engaged, or, where his hours of work fluctuate, he is engaged on average, for not less than 24 hours a week, in work for which payment is made or which is done in expectation of payment.

(2) In determining the number of hours for which a person is engaged in work where his hours of work fluctuate, regard shall be had to the average of hours worked over–

(a) if there is a recognisable cycle of work, the period of one complete cycle (including, where the cycle involves periods in which the person does no work, those periods but disregarding any other absences);

(b) in any other case, the period of 5 weeks immediately prior to the date of claim, or such other length of time as may, in the particular case, enable the person’s weekly average hours of work to be determined more accurately.

(3) Where no recognisable cycle has been established in respect of a person’s work, regard shall be had to the number of hours or, where those hours will fluctuate, the average of the hours, which he is expected to work in a week.

(4) A person shall be treated as engaged in remunerative work during any period for which he is absent from work referred to in paragraph (1) if the absence is either without good cause or by reason of a recognised, customary or other holiday.

(5) A person on income support for more than 3 days in any benefit week shall be treated as not being in remunerative work in that week.

(1)

S.I. 1987/1971.

(2)

S.I. 1988/662.

(3)

1987 c. 47.

(4)

1986 c. 50; subsection (3A) was inserted in section 28 of the Act by regulation 5(b) of the Housing Benefit (Social Security Act 1986 Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/1483) (the “Modifications Regulations”).

(5)

1975 c. 14; section 35 was amended by the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49), Schedule 15 paragraph 63, the Social Security Act 1979 (c. 18) section 2 and by the Social Security Act 1980 (c. 30), Schedule 1 Part II paragraph 8 and the Social Security Act 1988 (c. 7) section 1.

(6)

Sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 61 were added by the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50) section 39 and Schedule 3 paragraph 6.

(7)

1975 c. 16.

(8)

S.I. 1983/686; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1983/1164 and 1984/1675.

(9)

Section 11(11) was amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1988 Schedule 12 paragraph 20(8).

(10)

1975 c. 61.

(11)

Section 37A was inserted by section 22(1) of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (c. 60) and amended by the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49) Schedule 15 paragraph 64; the Social Security Act 1979 (c. 18) section 3 and the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50) sections 71 and 86 and Schedule 11.

(12)

S.I. 1987/1971.

(13)

Section 28 of the Act was modified by the insertion of subsection (11) by regulation 4(d) of the Modifications Regulations.

(14)

1975 c. 14.

(15)

1988 c. 1.