The Housing Renewal Grants (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Housing Renewal Grants Regulations 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”) which set out the means test for determining the amount of grant which may be paid by local housing authorities under Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”).

The amendments are mainly consequential on changes to the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971) upon which the means test is based. They also take into account amendments made to the 1996 Act by the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance)(England and Wales) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/1860) (“the 2002 Order”) and new tax credits introduced by the Tax Credits Act 2002 and the State Pension Credit Act 2002. The major changes are as follows—

• Regulation 2 provides new definitions in the 1996 Regulations.

• Regulation 6 amends regulation 7 of the 1996 Regulations to include those in receipt of state pension credit and those on paternity leave or adoption leave in provisions relating to when a person is treated as not being in remunerative work..

• Regulation 7 increases the amounts specified in regulation 10 of the 1996 Regulations, so increasing the applicable amount (which partly determines the amount of grant payable). This regulation also amends regulation 10 to deal with the introduction of guarantee credits under the State Pension Credit Act 2002.

• Regulation 8 amends regulation 12 of the 1996 Regulations to bring them into line with section 21 of the 1996 Act and amendments made to that section by the 2002 Order.

• Regulation 11 replaces paragraph (9) in regulation 19 of the 1996 Regulations with a new paragraph to provide for paternity leave and adoption leave and the new tax credits in the treatment of child care charges.

• Regulation 13 amends regulation 30 of the 1996 Regulations to provide that any payment made pursuant to any agreement or court order in consequence of personal injury which is to be paid by periodical payments shall be treated as income rather than capital.

• Regulation 15 amends regulation 40 of the 1996 Regulations by introducing a new weekly tariff income for persons aged 60 and over.

• Regulation 16 increases the amounts specified in regulation 43 of the 1996 Regulations as sums to be excluded from a student’s grant income where the student does not have a student loan. This regulation also adds items to the list of grants which are to be excluded from a student’s grant income.

• Regulation 17 uprates the applicable amounts and premiums in Schedule 1 to the 1996 Regulations.

• Regulation 18 substitutes new paragraphs 12 and 18 in Schedule 2 to the 1996 Regulations to deal, respectively, with the introduction of guarantee credit and of working tax credit.

• Regulations 19 and 20 make substitutions in Schedules 3 and 4 to deal with the introduction of guarantee credit and working tax credit. Regulation 19 also adds a new paragraph 71 to Schedule 3 in respect of payments made to a relevant person in consequence of personal injury.