Amendments to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 19972.

(1)

Schedule 2 (size criteria) to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 19976 is amended as follows.

(2)

In paragraph 1—

(a)

before sub-paragraph (a) insert—

“(za)

a member of a couple who cannot share a bedroom;

(zb)

a member of a couple who can share a bedroom;”;

(b)

in sub-paragraph (a) omit “(within the meaning of Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992)”;

(c)

in the full-out words at the end—

(i)

after “a child who cannot share a bedroom” insert “or a member of a couple who cannot share a bedroom”;

(ii)

after “the child” insert “or the member of the couple”.

(3)

In paragraph 1A, for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a)

one or more of the following persons is stated as being a person who requires overnight care—

(i)

the tenant;

(ii)

the tenant’s partner;

(iii)

a person (other than the tenant or the tenant’s partner) who occupies the dwelling as their home;

(iv)

a child or young person in respect of whom the tenant or the tenant’s partner is a qualifying parent or carer; or”.

(4)

In paragraph 3—

(a)

after “child who cannot share a bedroom” insert “, “couple”, “member of a couple who cannot share a bedroom”;

(b)

at the end insert “and reference to a member of a couple who can share a bedroom is to be construed in accordance with regulation 2(6) of those Regulations”.