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United Kingdom Statutory Instruments


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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2005 No. 3323

HOUSING, ENGLAND

The Housing Renewal Grants (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2005

  Made 29th November 2005 
  Laid before Parliament 8th December 2005 
  Coming into force 31st December 2005 

The First Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 30 and 146(1) and (2) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996[1], and with the consent of the Treasury, makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and application
     1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Renewal Grants (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 31st December 2005.

    (2) These Regulations apply to applications for grant which fall to be approved on or after 31st December 2005 by local housing authorities in England.

Interpretation
    
2. In these Regulations—

Modification of the 1996 Regulations
     3. —(1) The 1996 Regulations shall have effect, in relation to any person who has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit, with the modifications set out in this Regulation.

    (2) For regulations 14 (applicable amounts) and 15 (polygamous marriages), substitute—

    (3) After Schedule 1, insert—




Amendment of the 1996 Regulations
    
4. The 1996 Regulations are amended in accordance with the following provisions of these Regulations.

Regulation 2
    
5. In regulation 2 (interpretation), in paragraph (1)[4]—

Regulation 5
     6. For regulation 5 (definition of relevant person), substitute—

Regulation 10
    
7. In regulation 10 (the applicable amount)[5]—

Regulation 12
     8. In regulation 12 (reduction in amount of grant)[6]—

Regulation 14
     9. In regulation 14 (applicable amounts), in paragraph (b) omit from ", except" to the end of that paragraph.

Regulation 15
    
10. In regulation 15 (polygamous marriages), in paragraph (c) omit from ", except" to the end of that paragraph.

Regulation 17
    
11. In regulation 17 (determination of income and capital of relevant person's family and of a polygamous marriage)—

Regulation 18
    
12. In regulation 18 (determination of income on a weekly basis), in paragraph (1A)[7]—

Regulation 19
     13. In regulation 19 (treatment of childcare charges)—

Regulation 25
    
14. In regulation 25 (determination of net earnings of employed earners), in paragraph (3)(d) after "statutory maternity pay" insert ", statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay,".

Regulation 29
    
15. In regulation 29 (determination of income other than earnings), in paragraph (1)[8], omit "or 32 (modifications in respect of children and young persons)".

Regulations 32 and 34
     16. Omit regulations 32 (modifications in respect of children and young persons) and 34 (disregard of capital of child or young person).

Regulation 41
    
17. In regulation 41 (interpretation: students), in the definition of "contribution", after the word "spouse" insert "or civil partner".

Regulation 43
    
18. In regulation 43 (determination of grant income), in paragraph (3)[9]—

Schedule 1
     19. —(1) Schedule 1 (applicable amounts)[10] is amended as follows.

    (2) In Part I (personal allowances), in paragraph 1 in the column headed "(2) Amount"—

    (3) In paragraph 2, in the column headed "(2) Amount", in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) for "£38.50" substitute "£43.88"[11].

    (4) In paragraph 3 in Part II (family premium), in sub-paragraph (1) for "£15.75" substitute "£16.10"[12].

    (5) In paragraph 18 in Part IV (amounts of premiums specified in Part III)[13], in the column headed "Amount"—

Schedule 2
     20. —(1) Schedule 2 (sums to be disregarded in the determination of earnings)[14] is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraphs 3, 5, 6 and 8, for "£15" in each place in which it occurs, substitute "£20".

    (3) In paragraph 9, for "£15" in each place in which it occurs, substitute "£20".

    (4) In paragraph 12, in sub-paragraph (b), omit "married or unmarried", and "(within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002)".

    (5) In paragraph 15, omit "except earnings to which paragraph 16 applies".

    (6) Omit paragraph 16.

    (7) In paragraph 18[15]—

Schedule 3
     21. —(1) Schedule 3 (sums to be disregarded in the determination of income other than earnings) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph 4, in sub-paragraph (b) omit "married or unmarried" and "(within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002)".

    (3) In paragraph 13, at the end of sub-paragraph (b) add "or surviving civil partner's pension".

    (4) In paragraph 22(2), omit sub-paragraph (a) and in sub-paragraph (b), omit "to whom that regulation does not apply".

    (5) In paragraph 54—

    (6) At the end add—

Schedule 4
    
22. —(1) Schedule 4 (capital to be disregarded) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph 6, in sub-paragraph (b) omit "married or unmarried" and "(within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002)".

    (3) In paragraph 22, omit "32(5)" and "modifications in respect of children and young persons,".

    (4) In paragraph 46, for the words "by the High Court under the provisions of Order 80 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1985, the county court under Order 10 of the County Court Rules 1981", substitute "by the High Court or the County Court under rule 21.11(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998".

    (5) At the end add—



Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State


Kay Andrews
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

24th November 2005



We consent,


Vernon Coaker

Tom Watson
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

29th November 2005



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations amend 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. A change is made to the scope of the means test by regulation 6, substituting a new definition of "relevant person" in regulation 5 of the 1996 Regulations. This has the effect that the means test no longer applies where an application for grant is made by the parent or guardian of a disabled child or young person.

Other amendments made by these Regulations are mostly consequential on changes to the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1971), upon which the means test in the 1996 Regulations is based. The main changes of this nature are as follows—

Regulation 3 provides for the 1996 Regulations to have effect subject to modifications similar to some of those made for housing benefit by the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/325), where the 1996 Regulations apply in relation to relevant persons who have attained, or whose partners have attained, the qualifying age for state pension credit.

Regulation 7 increases the amounts specified in regulation 10 of the 1996 Regulations, thus increasing the "applicable amount" for the purpose of determining the amount of grant payable.

Regulation 8 uprates the loan generation factors for the purposes of regulation 12 of the 1996 Regulations, which determines the amount of reduction of grant in cases where the financial resources of the applicant or applicants for grant exceed the "applicable amount".

Regulation 11 introduces, into regulation 17 of the 1996 Regulations, a disregard in respect of the income and capital of a child or young person, and regulations 15 and 16 make amendments consequential upon this.

Regulation 12 increases the maximum deduction which may be made, in cases meeting certain conditions, in respect of average weekly relevant child care charges for the purpose of determination of income on a weekly basis under regulation 18 of the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 18 increases 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.

Regulation 19 uprates applicable amounts and premiums in Schedule 1 to the 1996 Regulations.

Regulation 20 amends Schedule 2 to the 1996 Regulations to reflect changes made by the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2634). Paragraph 18 of Schedule 2 provides for the amount which is to be disregarded from earnings under that Schedule to be increased where certain conditions are satisfied as to the minimum number of hours each week in which the claimant or any partner is engaged in remunerative work. The minimum number of hours is reduced from 30 to 16, where the claimant is a lone parent, or where the claimant and partner are responsible for one or more children, or where the person engaged in the remunerative work is over the age of 50 or satisfies the condition for a disability premium.

Regulation 21 makes amendments to Schedule 3 to the 1996 Regulations consequential upon the amendments made to the body of those Regulations.

Regulation 22 amends Schedule 4 to the 1996 Regulations in particular to update the references to rules of Court and to add a provision disregarding, from the calculation of capital, certain amounts received by victims of the London bombings on 7th July 2005.

A minor consequential amendment which does not derive from the housing benefit legislation is made by paragraph (c) of regulation 5. This amends regulation 2 of the 1996 Regulations to substitute, for the reference to "qualifying park home", a reference to "caravan" within the meaning given to that term by section 224 of the Housing Act 2004 (c. 34), which amended the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Other paragraphs of regulation 5 amend the interpretation of the 1996 Regulations to reflect the introduction of civil partnerships in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33).


Notes:

[1] 1996 c. 53. The functions of the Secretary of State under these sections, so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by article 2 of and Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, S.I. 1999/672, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations. Section 30 was amended by the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002, S.I. 2002/1860, article 11 and Schedule 3.back

[2] S.I. 1996/2890. Relevant amending instruments include S.I. 1996/3119, S.I. 1997/977, S.I. 1997/2764, S.I. 1998/808, S.I. 1999/1523, S.I. 1999/2568, S.I. 2000/531, S.I. 2000/910, S.I. 2001/739, S.I. 2001/2384, S.I. 2002/530, S.I. 2002/2469, and S.I. 2003/2504.back

[3] 2002 c. 16.back

[4] Paragraph (1) was last amended by S.I. 2003/2504; other relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2002/530, S.I. 2002/2469, S.I. 2001/739, S.I. 2000/531, S.I. 1999/1523, and S.I. 1998/808.back

[5] Regulation 10 is amended by S.I. 1998/808, S.I. 2000/910, and S.I. 2003/2504 (by which these amounts were last amended).back

[6] Regulation 12 is modified, for the purposes of section 134 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, by S.I. 1997/2764; and amended by S.I. 1997/977, S.I. 2002/530, and S.I. 2003/2504 (by which these amounts were last amended).back

[7] Paragraph (1A) was inserted by S.I. 1998/808, and the amounts in that paragraph were substituted in relation to England by S.I. 2002/530.back

[8] Paragraph 1 was amended by S.I. 1998/808.back

[9] Paragraph 3 was substituted in relation to England by S.I. 2000/530, and these amounts were last amended by S.I. 2003/2504.back

[10] Relevant amending instruments include S.I. 1997/977, S.I. 1998/808, S.I. 1999/1523, S.I. 2000/531, S.I. 2001/739, S.I. 2002/530, and S.I. 2003/2504.back

[11] These amounts were last amended by S.I. 2003/2504.back

[12] This amount was last amended by S.I. 2003/2504.back

[13] These amounts were last amended by S.I. 2003/2504.back

[14] Relevant amending instruments include S.I. 1998/808, S.I. 1999/2568, and S.I. 2003/2504.back

[15] Paragraph 18 was substituted, in relation to England, by S.I. 2003/2504.back



ISBN 0 11 073720 2


 © Crown copyright 2005

Prepared 8 December 2005


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