The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971) and the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1814) so that with respect to each benefit—

(a) they provide definitions of “date of claim” and “maternity leave” (regulations 2 and 16);

(b) they provide that a person absent from work owing to illness or maternity is not to be treated as engaged in remunerative work (regulations 3 and 17);

(c) they provide for certain capital of a child or young person to be treated as income and make consequential amendments (regulations 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25 and 28);

(d) they alter from 52 weeks to a year the period by reference to which the earnings of self-employed earners are to be estimated (regulations 7 and 20);

(e) with respect to the calculation of earnings of employed earners, they further specify the amounts which are to be included as earnings; they amend the provisions relating to the disregard of certain earnings where the employment has been terminated or the claimant has ceased to be engaged in work; they provide that certain disregards do not apply when certain other disregards apply, and that a specified amount only shall be disregarded in respect of earnings of children in certain circumstances (regulations 8, 13, 21 and 26);

(f) with respect to the calculation of earnings of self-employed earners, they amend the provisions specifying the amount to be deducted in respect of social security contributions (regulations 9 and 22);

(g) they amend, in relation to the calculation of a person’s applicable amount, the conditions relating to severe disability premium (regulations 12 and 25);

(h) with respect to the calculation of income other than earnings, they provide that the disregard of a specified amount of certain war pensions and payments is not to apply where the pension or payment falls to be disregarded under other specified provisions (regulations 14 and 27);

(i) with respect to the calculation of capital, they specify that £200 of certain payments made as a training bonus are to be disregarded (regulations 15 and 28).

With respect to housing benefit, they amend the provisions specifying the circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household (regulation 4).

These Regulations do not impose a charge on businesses.