1999 No. 2401
SOCIAL SECURITY

The Housing Benefit (General) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1999

Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
The Secretary of State for Social Security in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1(1C), 189(4) and 191 of the Social Security Administration Act 19921 after agreement by those organisations appearing to him to be representative of the authorities concerned that consultations should not be undertaken2 and after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it3, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.

These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (General) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 6th September 1999.

2.

In these Regulations “the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 19874.

Insertion of regulation 2B into the Housing Benefit Regulations

3.

Before regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit Regulations there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Cases in which section 1(1A) of the Administration Act is disapplied2B.

Section 1(1A) of the Administration Act (requirement to state national insurance number) shall not apply to housing benefit in a case where the person making a claim for that benefit, or in respect of whom that benefit is claimed, is liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling which is a hostel.”

Amendment of regulations 2 and 12A of the Housing Benefit Regulations

4.

The definition of “hostel” in paragraph (8) of regulation 12A of the Housing Benefit Regulations (requirement to refer to rent officers) shall apply generally to those Regulations and in consequence shall be inserted in the appropriate place in regulation 2 of the Housing Benefit Regulations (interpretation) and shall be omitted from paragraph (8) of regulation 12A of the Housing Benefit Regulations.

Alistair Darling
Secretary of State for Social Security
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971) (the “Housing Benefit Regulations”).

Regulation 3 inserts a new regulation into the Housing Benefit Regulations to exempt hostel dwellers from the requirements in respect of national insurance numbers imposed by section 1 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

Regulation 4 omits the definition of “hostel” from regulation 12A of the Housing Benefit Regulations (requirement to refer to rent officers) and inserts it into regulation 2 (interpretation).

These Regulations do not impose a charge on businesses.