These regulations further amend (in relation to England) the Housing Renewal Grants Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/2890)(“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.

Regulation 4(1) replaces section 5 (definition of relevant person) of the 1996 Regulations with a new definition for the purposes of establishing who is the relevant person in respect of any application for a grant.

Regulation 4(2) amends regulation 10 (the applicable amount) of the 1996 Regulations so that when calculating the financial resources of a person for the purposes of assessing eligibility for a grant, a person entitled to any of the benefits listed in paragraph (a) of that regulation will be regarded as having an income of £1.

Regulation 4(3) amends the amounts for the purposes of Regulation 12 (reduction in amount of grant) of the 1996 Regulations, which determine the amount of reduction of grant in cases where the financial resources of the applicant or applicants for grant exceed the “applicable amount”.

Regulation 4(4) makes an amendment to the calculation of “notional income” in regulation 31 (notional income) of the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 4(5) to (8) increases the applicable amounts and premiums in Schedules 1 to 4 to the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 5 amends Schedule 1A to the 1996 Regulations which have effect in relation to any person who has attained the qualifying age for state pensions.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.