The Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 2000

PART II COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT AMENDMENTS

1.  The Council Tax Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this Part.

2.  In regulation 2 (interpretation), in paragraph (1)–

(a) after the entry relating to “date of claim” there shall be inserted the following entry–

• ““the designated authority” means any of the following–

  (a)

  the Secretary of State;

  (b)

  a person providing services to the Secretary of State;

  (c)

  a local authority;

  (d)

  a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any functions of, any such authority;”

(b) the entry relating to “relevant authority” shall be omitted(1).

3.  In regulation 61 (who may claim), in paragraph (7), for the words “ relevant authority”, there shall be substituted the words “designated authority”.

4.  In regulation 62 (time and manner in which claims are made)–

(a) in paragraph (1), for the words “Subject to regulation 62B, every” there shall be substituted the word “Every”;

(b) in paragraph (4)–

(i) in sub-paragraph (d), for the words “and is not engaged in remunerative work”, there shall be substituted the words “and is neither engaged in remunerative work nor residing in an area identified in Schedule 1 to the Work-focused Interviews Regulations”;

(ii) at the end there shall be added the following sub-paragraph–

“(e) may be sent or delivered to the office of a designated authority where the claimant–

(i) has attained the age of 16 but not the age of 60; and

(ii) resides in an area identified in Schedule 1 to the Work-focused Interviews Regulations.”.

5.  In regulation 62A(2) (date of claim where claim sent or delivered to a gateway office) in paragraph (3) at the end there shall be added the words “or are made at an office of a designated authority in accordance with regulation 62(4)(e).”.

6.  For regulations 62B and 62C(2), there shall be substituted the following regulation–

“Date of claim where claim sent or delivered to an office of a designated authority

62B.— (1) Where a claim for council tax benefit has been sent or delivered to an office of a designated authority in accordance with regulation 62(4)(e), the date on which the claim is made shall be–

(a) except where paragraph (b) applies, the date the claim is received at an office of the designated authority; or

(b) where in the 4 weeks before the claim is received in an office of the designated authority, the person making the claim or a person acting on his behalf had notified an office of a designated authority of his intention to make such a claim, the date the notification was given.

(2) A notification of intention to make a claim is deemed to be given on the date on which notification of the intention to claim council tax benefit is received, in whatever form, from the claimant, or the person acting on his behalf, at an office of a designated authority.

(3) Paragraph (2) applies where neither income support nor a jobseeker’s allowance is claimed in conjunction with council tax benefit.

(4) Where the person claiming council tax benefit in accordance with regulation 62(4)(e), or the partner of that person,–

(a) has an award of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance; or

(b) has claimed such a benefit but no award has been made,

the date on which the claim for council tax benefit is made shall be determined as if sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) of paragraph (1) of regulation 62A applied to that claim as they apply to claims under regulation 62(4)(d).”.

7.  In regulation 63 (evidence and information), paragraph (7) shall be omitted.

8.  In regulation 65 (duty to notify changes of circumstances), in paragraph (4), for the words “relevant authority” there shall be substituted the words “designated authority”.

(1)

The relevant amending Instrument is S.I. 1999/3108.

(2)

The relevant amending Instruments are S.I. 1999/1539 and 3108.