Regulation 60 Time and manner in which claims are to be madeI1

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

Every claim shall be in writing and made on a properly completed form approved for the purpose by the appropriate authority or in such written form as the appropriate authority may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case or class of cases and be accompanied by or supplemented by such certificates, documents, information and evidence as are required in accordance with regulation 61(1) (evidence and information).

(2)

The forms approved for the purpose of claiming shall be provided free of charge by the appropriate authority or such persons as they may authorise or appoint for the purpose.

(3)

Each appropriate authority shall notify the Secretary of State of the address to which claims delivered or sent to the appropriate social security office are to be forwarded.

F1(4)

Where in the course of a benefit period —

(a)

a claimant’s partner becomes liable for the appropriate authority’s personal community charge or for a collective community charge contribution in that authority’s area on a day prior to which the partner was not so liable; or

(b)

a claimant or his partner ceases to be a registered student; or

(c)

a claimant acquires a partner or acquires a new partner,

and the claimant gives notice of any such change of circumstances at—

(i)

either of the offices referred to in paragraph (5)(b), where the claimant or his partner is a person on income support, or

(ii)

the designated office in any other case,

the notification may also have effect as a new claim for community charge benefit for both the claimant and his partner.

F2(4A)

Where both partners give notice in accordance with paragraph (4) the claimant for the purposes of any new claim shall be determined in accordance with regulation 59(1) (claims by couples).

(5)

A claim—

(a)

may be sent or delivered to the appropriate social security office where the claimant or his partner is also claiming income support;

(b)

where it has not been sent or delivered to the appropriate social security office, shall be sent or delivered to the designated office;

(c)

sent or delivered to the appropriate social security office shall be forwarded to the appropriate authority within two working days of the date of either the date of determination of the claim for income support or the receipt of the claim at the appropriate social security office, whichever is the later, or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.

(6)

Subject to F3paragraphs F4(6A), (12), (13), (19) and (20) , the date on which a claim is made shall be–

(a)

in a case where an award of income support has been made to the claimant or his partner and the claim is made within 4 weeks of the date on which the claim for that income support was received at the appropriate social security office, the first day of entitlement to that income support;

(b)

in a case where the claimant or his partner claimed income support but there is no entitlement to income support, the date on which the claim for community charge benefits is received at the appropriate social security office or the designated office whichever is the earlier;

F5(bb)

in a case where a claimant or his partner is a person on, income support and he or his partner changes his residence from the area of one appropriate authority to that of another, where the claim to the new authority is received at the designated office F6or appropriate social security office within 4 weeks of the date of the change, the date on which the change takes place;

(c)

in a case where paragraph (4) applies, the date on which the notification of the change of circumstance is received by either the appropriate social security office or by the designated office;

(d)

in any other case, the date on which the claim is received at the designated office.

F7(6A)

Where —

(a)

a claimant satisfies the conditions for entitlement to community charge benefit in respect of a period beginning on or after 1st April 1991; and

(b)

makes a claim for benefit for that period; and

(c)

that claim is made not later than 56 days after there has been served on him a demand (complying with regulations under the 1988 Act) which is expressed to take account of the provisions of the Community Charges (General Reduction) Act 1991 or, in Scotland, there has been issued to him a demand notice which complies with paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the 1987 Act as modified by or under section 3(4) of the Community Charges (General Reduction) Act 1991,

the claim shall be treated as having been made on the first day of the period in respect of which he satisfies the conditions for entitlement to benefit and for which the claim is made.

(7)

Where a claim received at the designated office has not been made in the manner prescribed in paragraph (1), that claim is for the purposes of these Regulations defective.

(8)

Where a claim is defective because—

(a)

it was made on the form approved for the purpose but that form is not accepted by the appropriate authority as being in a written form sufficient in the circumstances of the case; or

(b)

it was made in writing but not on the form approved for the purpose and the appropriate authority does not accept the claim as being in a written form which is sufficient in the circumstances of the case,

the appropriate authority may, in a case to which sub-paragraph (a) applies, refer the defective claim to the claimant or, in a case to which sub-paragraph (b) applies, supply the claimant with the approved form.

(9)

The appropriate authority shall treat a defective claim as if it had been made in the first instance where the approved form referred or sent to the claimant in accordance with paragraph (8) is received at the designated office properly completed within 4 weeks of it having been referred or sent to him, or such longer period as the appropriate authority may consider reasonable.

(10)

A claim which is made on an approved form for the time being is, for the purposes of this regulation, properly completed if completed in accordance with the instructions on the form.

(11)

Where, exceptionally, an appropriate authority has not determined its personal community charge by the beginning of the financial year, if a claim for community charge benefits is properly made or treated as properly made and—

(a)

the date on which the claim is made or treated as made is in the period from the 1st April of the current year and ending 4 weeks after the date on which the authority sets or determines the charge; and

(b)

if the charge had been determined, the claimant would have been entitled to community charge benefits either from–

(i)

the benefit week in which the 1st April of the current year fell, or

(ii)

a benefit week falling after the date specified in head (i) but before the claim was made,

the appropriate authority shall treat the claim as made in the benefit week immediately preceding the benefit week in which such entitlement would have commenced.

C1(12)

Where the claimant is not entitled to community charge benefit in the benefit week immediately following the date of his claim but the appropriate authority is of the opinion that unless there is a change of circumstances he will be entitled to community charge benefit for a period beginning not later than the thirteenth benefit week following the date on which the claim is made, the appropriate authority may treat the claim as made on a date in the benefit week immediately preceding the first benefit week of that period of entitlement and award benefit accordingly.

(13)

Where a person becomes subject to or liable to pay the personal community charge of an appropriate authority but has yet to be shown in the authority’s community charges register as subject to or liable to pay that charge, he or his partner may nevertheless claim community charge benefit in respect of that charge in advance of registration and, if the authority is of the opinion that unless there is a change of circumstances, that person will satisfy all the conditions of entitlement for community charge benefit from the day on which he is shown in the register as subject to or liable to pay that charge (the day of registration), F8the authority shall treat that claim as having been made either on the date of claim or on the day of registration, whichever is the later, and award benefit accordingly.

(14)

Where a person—

(a)

is entered or registered in the community charges register of two or more appropriate authorities as subject on the same day or days to personal community charges of the authorities or as liable to pay such charges in respect of those days, and

(b)

appeals against one or more entry or registration,

if, within 14 days of being notified of the determination of the appeal, he claims community charge benefit from the authority to which it is determined he is required to pay a personal community charge for the days concerned and that authority is not the authority to which a charge for those days was originally due then, provided the authority to which it is determined he is liable to pay the charge, is satisfied that that person was entitled to community charge benefit for any of the days to which the determination applies, his claim shall be treated as made on the first day in respect of which his entitlement arose.

(15)

A person to whom community charge benefit has been granted, or the partner of such a person, may make a claim to the appropriate authority for a further grant of that benefit, for a period beginning immediately after the end of his current benefit period, not more than 13 weeks before the end of that period.

(16)

A person may make a further claim not more than 4 weeks after the end of his benefit period or the benefit period of his partner or former partner for a further grant of such benefit, for a period beginning immediately after the end of that benefit period.

(17)

The appropriate authority shall invite a person to whom community charge benefit has been granted to make a claim for a further grant of that benefit where either—

(a)

the benefit period ended in circumstances to which F9regulation 55(a) and (b) refers (end of entitlement to income support); or

(b)

the benefit period is for a period exceeding 16 weeks and is due to end within 8 weeks in accordance with regulation 54(2) to (4) (benefit period) and no such claim has been received in accordance with paragraph (15),

and any claim received following that invitation, if made within 4 weeks of the end of the current benefit period, shall be treated as made for a period beginning immediately after the end of that benefit period in accordance with paragraph (15) or, as the case may be, paragraph (16).

(18)

Where the claimant makes a claim in respect of any period before the date on which that claim was, or was treated as, made and he proves that there was good cause for his failure to make that claim throughout the period between any date in that earlier period and the date on which the claim was or was treated as made, his claim shall, subject to section 165A of the Social Security Act^f1 (52 week limit on entitlement before the date of claim), be treated as made on the first day of that earlier period from which he can prove good cause.

F10(19)

Where—

(a)

on or after 1st April 1990 a claimant satisfies the capital condition in section 22(6) of the Act for community charge benefit and he would not have satisfied that condition had the amount prescribed under regulation 27 (capital limit) been £8,000; and

(b)

a claim for that benefit is received from him at the appropriate social security office or designated office not later than 27th May 1990,

the claim shall be treated as made on the date F11not later than 5th December 1990 determined in accordance with paragraph (20).

(20)

For the purposes of paragraph (19), where—

(a)

the claimant satisfies the other conditions of entitlement to community charge benefit in the benefit week in which he satisfies the capital condition, the date shall be the date on which he satisfied that condition;

(b)

the claimant does not satisfy the other conditions of entitlement to community charge benefit in the benefit week in which he satisfies the capital condition, the date shall be the first day of the benefit week in which he satisfies the conditions of entitlement to that benefit.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Reg. 60(4) substituted (1.10.1990) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/1773), regs. 1(1), 10(a)
F2: Reg. 60(4A) inserted (1.10.1990) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/1773), regs. 1(1), 10(b)
F3: Words in reg. 60(6) substituted (1.4.1990) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/835), regs. 1(1), 4(a)
F4: Word in reg. 60(6) inserted (1.4.1991) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/849), regs. 1(1), 3(a)
F5: Reg. 60(6)(bb) inserted (1.4.1991) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/234), regs. 1(1)(b), 6(a)
F6: Words in reg. 60(6)(bb) inserted (5.8.1991) by The Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefits (Miscellaneous) Amendment Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/1599), regs. 1(1)(a), 27 (with reg. 35)
F7: Reg. 60(6A) inserted (1.4.1991) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/849), regs. 1(1), 3(b)
F8: Words in reg. 60(13) substituted (1.4.1990) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/834), regs. 1(1), 18(b)
F9: Words in reg. 60(17)(a) substituted (1.4.1991) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/234), regs. 1(1)(b), 6(b)
F10: Reg. 60(19)(20) added (1.4.1990) by The Community Charge Benefits (General) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/835), regs. 1(1), 4(b)
F11: Words in reg. 60(19) inserted (5.12.1990) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions)Amendment Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/2208), regs. 1, 18

Modifications

C1: Reg. 60(12) excluded (30.8.1989) by The Community Charge Benefits (Transitional) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/1322), arts. 1(1), 2(3)

Commencement

I1: Reg. 60 in force at 11.8.1989, see reg. 1

Footnotes

f1: Section 165A was substituted by paragraph 87 of Schedule 10 to the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50) and amended by Schedule 8 paragraph 9 of the Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24).