1988 No. 910
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Income Support (General) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 1988
Made 19th May 1988
Laid before Parliament 19th May 1988
Coming into force 30th May 1988

The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of powers conferred upon him by sections 22(1) and (9)(b) and 84(1) of the Social Security Act 1986 and sections 166(1) to (3A) of the Social Security Act 1975 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf by this instrument, which is made before the end of a period of 12 months from the commencement of the enactment under which it is made, hereby makes the following Regulations:
1986 c. 50; section 84(1) is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meanings assigned to the words “prescribed” and “regulations”.
1975 c. 14; section 166(3A) is inserted by section 62 of the Social Security Act 1986 and section 166(1) to (3A) is applied by section 83(1) of that Act.

1 Citation, commencement and interpretation
1 These Regulations may be cited as the Income Support (General) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 30th May 1988.
2 In these Regulations “the General Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987.
S.I.1987/1967 amended by S.I.1988/663.

2 Amendment of regulation 17 of the General Regulations
In regulation 17 of the General Regulations (applicable amounts) at the end there shall be added the following —

“(f) any amounts determined in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.
2 Where —
(a) a claimant has throughout the period beginning on 11th April 1988 and ending immediately before the coming into force of paragraphs 25 to 28 of Schedule 10 (capital to be disregarded) failed to satisfy the capital condition in section 22(6) of the Act (no entitlement to benefit if capital exceeds prescribed amount); and
(b) as a consequence he is not entitled to any transitional addition, special transitional addition or personal expenses addition under Part II of the Transitional Regulations; and
(c) had those paragraphs been in force on 11th April 1988 he would have satisfied that condition and been entitled to any such addition,
the amount applicable under this paragraph shall, subject to paragraph (3), be equal to the amount of any transitional addition, special transitional addition and personal expenses addition to which he would be entitled under Part II of the Transitional Regulations had he been entitled to any such addition in the week commencing 11th April 1988.
3 For the purposes of paragraph (2), in determining a claimant’s total benefit income in his second benefit week for the purpose of calculating the amount of any transitional addition to which he would have been entitled, no account shall be taken of any payment referred to in paragraph (1)(j) of regulation 9 of the Transitional Regulations (total benefit income) which is made in respect of that week to compensate for the loss of entitlement to income support.
4 Subject to paragraph (6), where —
(a) the claimant or any member of his family was temporarily absent from his home in the claimant’s first or second benefit week (or both), because he was —
(i) a patient; or
(ii) outside Great Britain for the purpose of receiving treatment for any disease or bodily or mental disablement or for the purpose of accompanying a child or young person who is outside Great Britain for the purpose of receiving such treatment; or
(iii) in a residential care or nursing home or in accommodation provided under any of the provisions referred to in any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of residential accommodation in regulation 21(3) (special cases); or
(iv) in the care of a local authority under a relevant enactment; or
(v) staying with a person who was contributing to his maintenance; and
(b) as a result —
(i) in the claimant’s first benefit week his requirements for the purpose of calculating his entitlement to supplementary benefit were increased or reduced or he was not entitled to that benefit; or
(ii) in the claimant’s second benefit week his applicable amount was increased or reduced or he was not entitled to income support; and
(c) the period during which his requirements were, or his applicable amount was, increased or reduced, or he was not entitled to benefit, or any one or more of those circumstances existed, did not exceed 8 weeks,
the amount applicable under this paragraph shall be equal to the amount determined under paragraph (5).
5 The amount for the purposes of paragraph (4) shall be an amount equal to the difference between —
(a) the amount that his total benefit income in his first benefit week would have been had he been entitled in respect of that week to supplementary benefit calculated on the basis that he or any member of his family had not been absent from the home; and, if less,
(b) the amount of his total benefit income in the first complete week after the period of temporary absence ends; but for the purpose of calculating his total benefit income in that week —
(i) no account shall be taken of any payment referred to in paragraph (1)(j) of regulation 9 of the Transitional Regulations which is made in respect of that week to compensate for the loss (in whole or in part) of entitlement to income support; and
(ii) if the period of temporary absence ends after the coming into force of paragraph (4), the amount of income support to be taken into account shall, notwithstanding regulation 9(6) of the Transitional Regulations, be calculated as if that paragraph were not in force.
6 The amount under paragraph (4) shall cease to be applicable to a claimant if he ceases to be entitled to income support for a period exceeding eight weeks.
7 In this Regulation —
“first benefit week” and “second benefit week” have the meanings given to those expressions in regulations 2(1) of the Transitional Regulations and shall also include the week which would have been the claimant’s “first benefit week” or, as the case may be, “second benefit week” had he been entitled to supplementary benefit or, as the case may be, income support in that week;
“total benefit income” has, subject to paragraphs (3) and (5)(b), the same meaning as in regulation 9 of the Transitional Regulations;
“Transitional Regulations” means the Income Support (Transitional) Regulations 1987
S.I.1987/1969 amended by S.I.1988/521 and 670.”

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3 Amendment of Schedule 10 to the General Regulations
In Schedule 10 to the General Regulations (capital to be disregarded) —
(a) in paragraph 4(b) the words “where the claimant is not to be treated as occupying a dwelling” shall be omitted;
(b) after paragraph 24 there shall be added the following paragraphs —

“25 Where a claimant has ceased to occupy what was formerly the dwelling occupied as the home following his estrangement or divorce from his former partner, that dwelling for a period of 26 weeks from the date on which he ceased to occupy that dwelling.
26 Any premises where the claimant is taking reasonable steps to dispose of those premises, for a period of 26 weeks from the date on which he first took such steps, or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances to enable him to dispose of those premises.
27 Any premises where the claimant has commenced legal proceedings to obtain possession of those premises in order to occupy them as his home, for a period of 26 weeks from the date on which he commenced such proceedings, or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances to enable him to obtain possession and commence occupation of those premises.
28 Any premises which the claimant intends to occupy as his home to which essential repairs or alterations are required in order to render them fit for such occupation, for a period of 26 weeks from the date on which the claimant first takes steps to effect those repairs or alterations, or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances to enable those repairs or alterations to be carried out and the claimant to commence occupation of the premises.”

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Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Services
Nicholas Scott Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Security 19th May 1988

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations further amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987.
They provide for an increase in the applicable amount of persons who, had the amendments made by regulation 3(b) been in force on the introduction of the scheme, would have been entitled to a transitional addition and persons who had a reduced or no transitional addition owing to their temporary absence from home in the week before or after the introduction (regulation 2).
They also provide, in the calculation of capital, for the disregard, for a period of 26 weeks of the claimant’s interest in his former home where he has left that home following his estrangement or divorce from his former partner; for the disregard, for such period or longer, of property where he is taking steps to dispose of it or to obtain possession of it or essential repairs are needed to make it fit for occupation (regulation 3(b)); and for the disregard of any premises occupied by a former partner from whom the claimant is neither estranged nor divorced (regulation 3(a)).
These Regulations are made before the expiry of 12 months from the commencement of the enactment under which they are made; they are accordingly exempt by section 61(5) of the Social Security Act 1986 from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred.