1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 2nd July 2001.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
[F1“the 1998 Act” means the Social Security Act 1998;]
“the Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000;
“the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992;
“appeal” means an appeal to an appeal tribunal;
“appropriate relevant authority” has the meaning it has in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“benefit week” means a period of seven consecutive days commencing on a Monday and ending on a Sunday;
“claimant” means a person claiming housing benefit or council tax benefit or both;
“clerk to an appeal tribunal” means a clerk assigned to an appeal tribunal in accordance with regulation 37 of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999;
[F2“Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006;]
[F3“Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006;]
[F4“couple” means—
a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;
a man and woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;
two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or
two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners,
and for the purposes of paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;; and]
M1“Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 ;
[F5“family” has the same meaning as in section 137 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;]
F6...
“financially qualified panel member” means a panel member who is an accountant and a member of—
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland;
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;
[F7the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland;]
the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants;
the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; or
the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy;
[F8“Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006;]
[F9“Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006;]
“legally qualified panel member” means a panel member who—
M2has a general qualification (construed in accordance with section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990) ; or
is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland;
“official error” means an error made by—
a relevant authority or a person—
authorised to carry out any function of a relevant authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit; or
providing services relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit directly or indirectly to a relevant authority;
[F10an officer of—
the Department for Work and Pensions; or
the Commissioners of Inland Revenue,
acting as such;]
F11...
but excludes any error caused wholly or partly by any person or body not specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of this definition and any error of law which is shown to have been an error only by virtue of a subsequent decision of a Commissioner (construed in accordance with paragraph 23(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act) or the court;
“panel member” means a person appointed to a panel constituted under section 6 of the Social Security Act 1998;
“partner” means—
where a claimant is a member of [F12a couple], the other member of that couple; or
where a claimant is polygamously married to two or more members of his household, any such member;
“person affected” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 3;
“President” means the President of appeal tribunals appointed under section 5 of the Social Security Act 1998;
“principal parties” has the same meaning as in paragraph 7(4) of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“relevant authority” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“relevant decision” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 7 to the Act;
F6...
F6...
(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—
(a)to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number;
(b)in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation bearing that number.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.10.2003) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2275), regs. 1(1)(b), 5(2)(a)
F2Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (6.3.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 17(2)(a) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)
F3Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.3.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 17(2)(b) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)
F4Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (5.12.2005) by Social Security (Civil Partnership) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2878), regs. 1, 9(2)(a)
F5Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.10.2003) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2275), regs. 1(1)(b), 5(2)(b)
F6Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (30.9.2002) by virtue of Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1703), reg. 1, Sch. 2 para. 8(a)(i)
F7Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (20.5.2002) by Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1379), regs. 1(1), 23(a)
F8Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (6.3.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 17(2)(c) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)
F9Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (6.3.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 17(2)(d) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)
F10Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (20.5.2002) by Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1379), regs. 1(1), 23(b)
F11Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (30.9.2002) by virtue of Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1703), reg. 1, Sch. 2 para. 8(a)(ii)
F12Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (5.12.2005) by Social Security (Civil Partnership) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2878), regs. 1, 9(2)(b)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Reg. 1(2) applied by S.I. 1987/1971 Sch. 5 para. 8(2) (as added) (14.10.2002) by Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2380), regs. 1(b), 4(b)
C2Reg. 1(2) applied by S.I. 1992/1814 Sch. 5 para. 8(2) (as added) (14.10.2002) by Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2380), regs. 1(b), 5(b)
C3Reg. 1(2) applied by 2002 SI1792 Sch. 5 Pt. 1 para 20A(4) (as substituted (6.10.2003) by State Pension Credit (Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2274), regs. 1, 2(12)(f))
Marginal Citations
M1S.I. 1999/991; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1999/1466 and 2000/1596.
2. Where, by, or in consequence of, any provision of these Regulations or Schedule 7 to the Act—
(a)any notice or other document is required to be given or sent to the clerk to an appeal tribunal, the Secretary of State or the relevant authority, that notice or document shall be treated as having been so given or sent on the day that it is received by the clerk to the appeal tribunal, the Secretary of State or the relevant authority, as the case may be; and
(b)any notice (including notification of a decision of a relevant authority) or other document is required to be given or sent to any person other than the clerk to an appeal tribunal, the Secretary of State or the relevant authority, as the case may be, that notice or document shall, if sent by post to that person’s last known address, be treated as having been so given or sent on the day it was posted.
3.—(1) For the purposes of Schedule 7 to the Act and subject to paragraph (2), a person is to be treated as a person affected by a relevant decision of a relevant authority where that person is—
(a)a claimant;
(b)in the case of a person who is liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling and is unable for the time being to act—
(i)a receiver appointed by the Court of Protection with power to claim, or as the case may be, receive benefit on his behalf,
(ii)in Scotland, a tutor, curator, judicial factor or other guardian acting or appointed in terms of law administering that person’s estate, or
(iii)an attorney with a general power or a power to receive benefit appointed by the person liable to make those payments under the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 M3 or the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act 1985 M4;
[F13(c)a person appointed by the relevant authority under regulation 82(3) of the Housing Benefit Regulations, regulation 63(3) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations, regulation 68(3) of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations or, as the case may be, regulation 52(3) of the Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (appointments for persons unable to act);]
[F13(d)a person from whom the relevant authority determines that—
(i)an overpayment is recoverable in accordance with Part 13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations or Part 12 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations; or
(ii)excess benefit is recoverable in accordance with Part 11 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations or Part 10 of the Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations; or]
[F13(e)a landlord or agent acting on behalf of that landlord and that decision is made under—
(i)regulation 95 (circumstances in which payment is to be made to the landlord) of the Housing Benefit Regulations;
(ii)regulation 96 (circumstances in which payment may be made to the landlord) of those Regulations;
(iii)regulation 76 (circumstances in which payment is to be made to the landlord) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations;
(iv)regulation 77 (circumstances in which payment may be made to the landlord) of those Regulations.]
(2) Paragraph (1) only applies in relation to a person referred to in paragraph (1) where the rights, duties or obligations of that person are affected by a relevant decision.
Textual Amendments
F13Reg. 3(1)(c)-(e) substituted (6.3.2006) by The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/217), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 17(3)(a) (with regs. 2, 3, Sch. 3, Sch. 4)
Marginal Citations