Explanatory note

they increase the amount to be disregarded from a student’s grant income intended to meet the cost of books and equipment to £234 (regulation 2);

they provide that on a person first becoming liable for an appropriate authority’s personal community charge, where housing benefit is claimed in the week liability arose, any entitlement to community charge rebate will run from the benefit week in which the claim was made (regulation 3);

they specify the circumstances in which a person may claim community charge rebate though not yet shown in a community charges register as liable for a personal community charge and the date on which such a claim will be treated as made; they also provide, where a person is registered with 2 or more authorities with respect to liability for a personal community charge but on appeal he ceases to be liable for one authority’s personal community charge for any day or days and becomes so liable to a different authority for those days, for any claim for community charge rebate to be treated as made on the date entitlement to rebate from the second authority arose (regulation 4);

they amend the provisions prescribing the persons from whom overpaid benefits may be recovered (regulation 5) and the provisions governing the sums that may be deducted in calculating a recoverable overpayment of benefit (regulation 6);

they add certain types of financial assistance given by local authorities to persons in care or formerly in care to the sums that are to be disregarded in calculating a person’s income and capital (regulations 7 and 8).