These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/214).

Regulation 2 amends the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006. It amends regulation 29 to provide that a decision maker should calculate a claimant’s average weekly income from employment by reference to any amount of earnings the claimant expects to receive, as well as any earnings they have received.

Regulation 2 also inserts a new provision which clarifies when a claimant’s average weekly earnings from employment calculated pursuant to regulation 29 should be taken into account. It provides that those earnings should be taken into account either: in the case of a new claim, on the date of the claim and the first day of each benefit week thereafter; or in the case of a claim, the first day of the benefit week following the day the claimant commenced employment, or the first day of the benefit week following the date the claimant’s earnings changed so as to require a re-estimation under regulation 29, and the first day of each benefit week thereafter, even if a claimant does not actually receive those earnings from their employer in that week.

Regulation 3 makes similar amendments to regulation 33 (Calculation of weekly income) of the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations.