Explanatory note

These Regulations further amend the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987.

They terminate the arrangements for treating charitable and voluntary payments in excess of £250 as income; and make a number of other miscellaneous amendments to the rules for calculating income and capital, including provision for the disregard of payments made by the Secretary of State to compensate for the loss of benefit under the reformed scheme, and for the disregard of community charge rebates, any training bonus not exceeding £200 paid under the Employment Training scheme, and certain other specified payments (regulations 6 to 14 and 19 to 21).

The Regulations also restrict payments under a rental purchase agreement which constitute eligible rent to payments made in respect of a dwelling which forms part of a building (regulation 5); extend, in Scotland, the maximum benefit period on a claim made before 1 April 1989 to 80 weeks (regulation 16); treat a concessionary payment as if it were a payment of benefit for the purpose of determining entitlement to the pensioner and disability premiums and provide for a person entitled to a disability premium to be treated as satisfying the incapacity condition when undertaking a period of approved training (regulation 18).

In addition, they delete the provision for the recovery of overpayments of benefit in Northern Ireland as a result of the corresponding provision to that effect made by section 29(8) of the Social Security Act 1986 inserted by the Social Security Act 1988 (c. 7) (regulation 17); amend the definition of a polygamous marriage (regulation 2) and make certain other minor amendments (regulations 3, 4 and 15).

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.