The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001

Citation, commencement and interpretation E+W+S

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;

• M1 “Council Tax Benefit Regulations” means the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 ;

• [F2 “couple” means—

  (a)

  a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

  (b)

  a man and woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

  (c)

  two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or

  (d)

  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]

• M2 “Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 ;

• [F3 “family” has the same meaning as in section 137 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;]

• F4 ...

• “financially qualified panel member” means a panel member who is an accountant and a member of—

  (a)

  the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

  (b)

  the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland;

  (c)

  the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;

  (cc)

  [F5 the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland;]

  (d)

  the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants;

  (e)

  the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; or

  (f)

  the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy;

• M3 “Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 ;

• “legally qualified panel member” means a panel member who—

  (a)

  M4 has a general qualification (construed in accordance with section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990) ; or

  (b)

  is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland;

• “official error” means an error made by—

  (a)

  a relevant authority or a person—

  (i)

  authorised to carry out any function of a relevant authority relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit; or

  (ii)

  providing services relating to housing benefit or council tax benefit directly or indirectly to a relevant authority;

  (b)

  [F6 an officer of—

  (i)

  the Department for Work and Pensions; or

  (ii)

  the Commissioners of Inland Revenue,

  acting as such;]

  (c)

  F7 ...

  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—

  (a)

  where a claimant is a member of [F8 a couple], the other member of that couple; or

  (b)

  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;

• F4 ...

• F4 ...

(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

F1 Words 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)

F2 Words 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)

F3 Words 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)

F4 Words 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)

F5 Words 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)

F6 Words 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)

F7 Words 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)

F8 Words 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)

C1 Reg. 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)

C2 Reg. 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)

C3 Reg. 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

M1 S.I. 1992/1814.

M2 S.I. 1999/991; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1999/1466 and 2000/1596.

M3 S.I. 1987/1971.

M4 1990 c. 41.