Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Housing Benefit (Community Charge Rebates) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 (the principal Regulations).

The Regulations make miscellaneous amendments and in particular terminate the arrangements for treating charitable and voluntary payments in excess of £250 as income and make other miscellaneous amendments to the rules for calculating income and capital (regulations 2 to 12, 18 and 19).

They specify circumstances in which claims for housing benefit made after 1st April 1989 may be treated as having been made on that date (regulation 14).

They extend the information which may be provided by the Secretary of State to levying authorities to include a person’s date of birth (regulation 15).

They introduce an increased pensioner premium for persons aged 75 and over and uprate the amount of the higher pensioner premium with effect from 9th October 1989 (regulation 16); and provide for an earnings disregard of £15 where but for these changes a person would have been entitled to the disability premium (regulation 17).

They also amend the requirements as to the contents of notices of determinations where no award is made and the membership of review boards (regulations 20 and 21).

These Regulations, except in so far as they are made under the powers in section 51 of the Social Security Act 1986, are made before the expiry of 12 months from the commencement of the provisions under which they are made; they are accordingly exempt by section 61(5) of the Social Security Act 1986 from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred.