The Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2015
S.I. 2015/1784 · Made 12 October 2015
Social Security
Made 12th October 2015
Laid before Parliament 19th October 2015
Coming into force 9th November 2015
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 140B(1), (3), (4) and (4A), 140F(2) and 189(1), (4), (5) and (7) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992f1.
In accordance with section 189(8) of that Actf2, the Secretary of State has obtained the consent of the Treasury.
In accordance with section 176(1) of that Actf3, the Secretary of State has consulted with organisations appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of the authorities concerned.
Annotations to the whole text
Footnotes
- f1
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1992 c.5. Sections 140B and 140F were inserted by paragraph 4 of Schedule 12 to the Housing Act 1996 (c.52). Section 140B was amended by section 10 of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to, the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 (c.47) (“the Fraud Act”). Sections 140B and 140F were repealed, to the extent they related to council tax benefit, by section 147 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c.5) with effect from 1st April 2013 and subject to savings and transitional provisions in articles 9 and 10 of S.I. 2013/358. Section 189(1) and (4) was amended by paragraph 109 of Schedule 7 to the Social Security Act 1998 (c.14). Section 189(1) was amended by paragraph 57(2) of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c.2) (“the Transfer of Functions Act”) and paragraph 1 of Schedule 6 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c.21). Section 189(4) was amended by S.I. 2013/252. Section 189(7) was amended by paragraph 24 of Schedule 9 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c.14) and paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Fraud Act. Section 189 was repealed, to the extent it related to council tax benefit, by section 147 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 with effect from 1st April 2013 and subject to savings and transitional provisions in articles 9 and 10 of S.I. 2013/358.
- f2
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Section 189(8) was amended by paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 13 to the Housing Act 1996, paragraph 10 of Schedule 4 to the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (c.27), paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c.21), paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Act 2007 (c.22) and paragraph 57(3) of Schedule 3 to the Transfer of Functions Act.
- f3
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Section 176(1)(b) was amended by paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 13 to the Housing Act 1996 and was repealed, to the extent it related to council tax benefit, by section 147 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 14 to, the Welfare Reform Act 2012 with effect from 1st April 2013 and subject to savings and transitional provisions in articles 9 and 10 of S.I. 2013/358.
Contents
- 1Citation, commencement and interpretation
- 2The amount of an authority’s subsidy
- 3Additions to an authority’s subsidy
- 4Rent rebate deductions from an authority’s subsidy
- 5Amendments consequential to the abolition of community charge benefit
- Signature
- Schedule 1Schedule to be substituted for Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order
- Schedule 2Schedule to be inserted after Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order
- Schedule 3Part to be substituted for Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
- Schedule 4Part to be substituted for Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
- Explanatory note
1Citation, commencement and interpretation
This Order may be cited as the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2015 and comes into force on 9th November 2015.
Article 2(4) and Schedule 1 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2014.
Article 2(2) and (3) and article 3 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for—
the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2014; and
any subsequent relevant year.
Article 4 and Schedules 3 and 4 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2015.
In this Order—
the “1998 Order” means the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998f1;
“relevant year” means the period of a year beginning with 1st April in any calendar year, in respect of which a claim for subsidy is made.
2The amount of an authority’s subsidy
The 1998 Order is amended as follows.
In article 12 (amount of subsidy)—
for paragraph (1)f1, substitute—
“(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of an authority’s subsidy for the relevant year is the sum of the following—
(a)the amount of subsidy calculated in accordance with article 13;
(b)for an authority identified in column (1) of Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy), the amount in respect of the costs of administering the relevant benefit specified in column (2) of that Schedule for that authority;
(c)for an authority which is a participating authority for the purpose of Schedule 1A (additional amount of subsidy: activities to reduce fraud and error), the additional amount (if any) calculated in accordance with that Schedule; and
(d)for an authority which has modified any part of a scheme it administers in recognition of the operation of a local scheme under section 134(8) of the Act (arrangements for housing benefit), the additional amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (4).”;
in paragraph (4)f2, for “(1)(c)” substitute “(1)(d)”.
In article 13(1) (relevant benefit)f3, for the words from “Subject to” to “paid to an authority” substitute “The amount of subsidy payable under article 12(1)(a)”.
For Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy)f4, substitute the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.
After Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy), insert the Schedule 1A set out in Schedule 2 to this Order.
3Additions to an authority’s subsidy
The 1998 Order is amended as follows.
In article 18 (additions to subsidy), after paragraph (6ZA)f1 insert—
“(6ZB)For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(e) and (2), an “authority error overpayment” or an “administrative delay overpayment” does not include an overpayment of a kind to which paragraphs (6ZC) or (6ZD) apply.
(6ZC)This paragraph applies to an overpayment where—
(a)an authority receives real time information in respect of the overpayment which indicates that the overpayment was caused by the incorrect declaration of PAYE employment income or PAYE pension income by the claimant; and
(b)the authority—
(i)has sufficient real time information to make a revision or supersession decision on the claimant’s award; and
(ii)makes a revision or supersession decision during the period of 4 weeks beginning with the date on which the authority received the real time information.
(6ZD)This paragraph applies to an overpayment where—
(a)an authority receives real time information in respect of the overpayment which indicates that the overpayment was caused by the incorrect declaration of PAYE employment income or PAYE pension income by the claimant;
(b)the authority has insufficient real time information to make a revision or supersession decision;
(c)the authority requests further information from the claimant; and
(d)the authority makes a revision or supersession decision either—
(i)if the additional information is provided during the period of 4 weeks beginning with the date on which the authority received the real time information (“the 4 week period”), by the end of that 4 week period; or
(ii)if the additional information is provided after the 4 week period has ended, by the Monday following the date on which the additional information is received.
(6ZE)For the purposes of paragraphs (6ZC) and (6ZD)—
“PAYE employment income” has the meaning in section 683(2) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003f2;
“PAYE pension income” has the meaning in section 683(3) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003;
“real time information” means information which is reported by a Real Time Information employer or Real Time Information pension payer in respect of the PAYE employment income or PAYE pension income of its employees;
“Real Time Information employer” has the meaning in regulation 2A(1) of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003f3;
“Real Time Information pension payer” has the meaning in regulation 2B(1) of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003f4.”.
4Rent rebate deductions from an authority’s subsidy
The 1998 Order is amended as follows.
In Schedule 4A (rent rebate limitation deductions (Housing Revenue Account Dwellings))f1—
in Part 2 (England), in paragraph 3 (amount of deduction), for sub-paragraph (3)f2 substitute—
“(3)The rebate proportion for 2015-16 is 0.746.”.
for Part 3 (weekly rent limits for purposes of Part 2: authorities in England)f3, substitute the Part 3 set out in Schedule 3 to this Order.
for Part 5 (amounts for purposes of Part 4, paragraph 4: authorities in Wales)f4, substitute the Part 5 set out in Schedule 4 to this Order.
5Amendments consequential to the abolition of community charge benefit
The 1998 Order is amended as follows.
In article 11 (interpretation of Part 3)—
omit the definition of “the Community Charge Benefits Regulations”;
in the definition of “Overpayment”, omit “excess benefits under the Community Charge Benefits Regulations and”.
In article 18 (additions to subsidy)—
in paragraph (1)(b)f1, omit “community charge benefit or”;
in paragraph (1)(b)(ii), omit “community charge benefit or”;
in paragraph (8)f2—
omit “community charge benefit or”;
after “regulation 69 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations”, for “of” substitute “or”;
omit “or paragraph (18) of regulation 60 of the Community Charge Benefits Regulations (time and manner in which claims are to be made)”.
In paragraph (1)(g)(ii)f3 of article 19 (deductions to be made in calculating subsidy)—
omit “paragraph (7) of article 2 of the Community Charge Benefits (Transitional) Order 1989,”;
omit “paragraph (18) of regulation 60 of the Community Charge Benefits Regulations,”.
In article 20 (deduction from subsidy), omit “or community charge benefit”.
Signature
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Freud
Minister of State,
Department for Work and Pensions
12th October 2015
We consent
Charlie Elphicke
Mel Stride
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury
12th October 2015
Schedule 1Schedule to be substituted for Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order
“SCHEDULE 1
Sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy
Article 12(1)(b)
Relevant Year 2014-2015
Local authority Administration subsidy(£) England Adur 284,754 Allerdale 501,177 Amber Valley 583,185 Arun 779,941 Ashfield 643,947 Ashford 571,726 Aylesbury Vale 702,012 Babergh 345,186 Barking & Dagenham 1,636,923 Barnet 2,473,067 Barnsley 1,532,037 Barrow in Furness 389,038 Basildon 1,044,461 Basingstoke and Deane 776,222 Bassetlaw 595,256 Bath & North East Somerset 814,756 Bedford 948,233 Bexley 1,215,949 Birmingham 8,508,760 Blaby 298,130 Blackburn with Darwen 968,286 Blackpool 1,475,926 Bolsover 415,646 Bolton 1,959,127 Boston 416,763 Bournemouth 1,336,748 Bracknell Forest 530,251 Bradford 3,511,436 Braintree 720,774 Breckland 1,041,397 Brent 3,214,671 Brentwood 258,757 Brighton and Hove 2,140,528 Bristol 3,070,735 Broadland 398,912 Bromley 1,538,678 Bromsgrove 297,939 Broxbourne 524,955 Broxtowe 446,491 Burnley 720,514 Bury 1,042,153 Calderdale 1,332,370 Cambridge 1,321,053 Camden 2,261,136 Cannock Chase 529,674 Canterbury 649,399 Carlisle 565,516 Castle Point 389,291 Central Bedfordshire 983,617 Charnwood 637,355 Chelmsford 667,870 Cheltenham 568,254 Cherwell 625,784 Cheshire East 1,551,528 Cheshire West and Chester 1,616,730 Chesterfield 655,552 Chichester 500,992 Chiltern 302,414 Chorley 475,240 Christchurch 224,928 City of London 112,419 Colchester 837,311 Copeland 391,193 Corby 515,844 Cornwall 3,032,868 Cotswold 345,877 Coventry 2,264,153 Craven 203,537 Crawley 699,202 Croydon 2,856,446 Dacorum 697,851 Darlington 680,173 Dartford 444,100 Daventry 301,410 Derby 1,462,960 Derbyshire Dales 245,188 Doncaster 2,042,503 Dover 648,897 Dudley 1,735,011 Durham 3,516,220 Ealing 2,767,856 East Cambridgeshire 347,152 East Devon 533,625 East Dorset 304,494 East Hampshire 409,887 East Hertfordshire 525,027 East Lindsey 996,541 East Northamptonshire 355,272 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,511,223 East Staffordshire 541,138 Eastbourne 718,346 Eastleigh 481,390 Eden 190,446 Elmbridge 476,105 Enfield 3,321,185 Epping Forest 500,782 Epsom and Ewell 267,945 Erewash 571,126 Exeter 677,111 Fareham 342,647 Fenland 575,531 Forest Heath 304,537 Forest of Dean 408,486 Fylde 342,842 Gateshead 1,403,742 Gedling 543,699 Gloucester 785,600 Gosport 547,595 Gravesham 557,965 Great Yarmouth 746,627 Greenwich 2,539,289 Guildford 545,022 Hackney 3,653,507 Halton 971,467 Hambleton 340,685 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,773,438 Harborough 231,518 Haringey 2,822,038 Harlow 599,193 Harrogate 568,878 Harrow 1,610,470 Hart 219,116 Hartlepool 857,534 Hastings 874,817 Havant 617,527 Havering 1,103,182 Herefordshire 854,590 Hertsmere 547,490 High Peak 445,053 Hillingdon 1,946,913 Hinckley and Bosworth 442,614 Horsham 424,177 Hounslow 1,808,918 Huntingdonshire 706,549 Hyndburn 602,613 Ipswich 874,953 Isle of Wight 913,466 Isles of Scilly 4,002 Islington 2,592,394 Kensington and Chelsea 1,569,112 Kettering 472,076 King’s Lynn & West Norfolk 757,300 Kingston upon Hull 2,304,697 Kingston upon Thames 784,272 Kirklees 2,293,383 Knowsley 1,370,013 Lambeth 3,682,708 Lancaster 693,234 Leeds 4,816,618 Leicester 2,370,233 Lewes 447,980 Lewisham 3,619,951 Lichfield 358,575 Lincoln 678,659 Liverpool 5,142,181 Luton 1,252,478 Maidstone 671,778 Maldon 244,052 Malvern Hills 322,604 Manchester 5,059,228 Mansfield 630,780 Medway 1,583,173 Melton 183,679 Mendip 547,570 Merton 1,191,601 Mid Devon 339,385 Mid Suffolk 289,407 Mid Sussex 435,328 Middlesbrough 1,358,751 Milton Keynes 1,683,413 Mole Valley 302,144 New Forest 649,460 Newark and Sherwood 486,569 Newcastle under Lyme 600,250 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,241,200 Newham 2,820,834 North Devon 528,165 North Dorset 266,754 North East Derbyshire 421,289 North East Lincolnshire 1,229,616 North Hertfordshire 652,247 North Kesteven 389,523 North Lincolnshire 978,702 North Norfolk 502,439 North Somerset 1,131,450 North Tyneside 1,309,039 North Warwickshire 268,156 North West Leicestershire 376,977 Northampton 1,237,889 Northumberland 1,733,828 Norwich 1,140,295 Nottingham 2,716,639 Nuneaton and Bedworth 672,465 Oadby and Wigston 186,662 Oldham 1,591,694 Oxford 866,931 Pendle 686,031 Peterborough 1,410,857 Plymouth 1,871,444 Poole 675,314 Portsmouth 1,610,753 Preston 891,223 Purbeck 198,750 Reading 1,072,266 Redbridge 1,469,399 Redcar and Cleveland 1,024,148 Redditch 442,083 Reigate and Banstead 559,459 Ribble Valley 171,545 Richmond upon Thames 833,212 Richmondshire 179,454 Rochdale 1,625,820 Rochford 284,210 Rossendale 390,540 Rother 450,948 Rotherham 1,560,314 Rugby 462,361 Runnymede 333,932 Rushcliffe 336,256 Rushmoor 537,580 Rutland 121,121 Ryedale 230,158 Salford 2,185,282 Sandwell 2,401,630 Scarborough 778,061 Sedgemoor 761,108 Sefton 1,767,590 Selby 312,927 Sevenoaks 431,312 Sheffield 3,303,293 Shepway 649,204 Shropshire 1,314,715 Slough 1,025,162 Solihull 878,035 South Bucks 225,930 South Cambridgeshire 417,407 South Derbyshire 314,371 South Gloucestershire 1,139,200 South Hams 373,595 South Holland 396,146 South Kesteven 578,537 South Lakeland 353,891 South Norfolk 480,960 South Northamptonshire 239,409 South Oxfordshire 431,521 South Ribble 439,749 South Somerset 799,943 South Staffordshire 392,342 South Tyneside 1,189,042 Southampton 1,740,509 Southend on Sea 1,228,568 Southwark 3,393,874 Spelthorne 400,657 St Albans 438,737 St Edmundsbury 468,715 St Helens 1,271,078 Stafford 499,237 Staffordshire Moorlands 346,535 Stevenage 520,529 Stockport 1,349,722 Stockton on Tees 1,313,851 Stoke on Trent 1,736,182 Stratford on Avon 462,107 Stroud 412,415 Suffolk Coastal 457,172 Sunderland 2,321,230 Surrey Heath 279,347 Sutton 1,064,597 Swale 797,204 Swindon 1,094,024 Tameside 1,662,183 Tamworth 362,616 Tandridge 294,770 Taunton Deane 563,703 Teignbridge 630,956 Telford and Wrekin 1,155,166 Tendring 962,953 Test Valley 472,871 Tewkesbury 336,178 Thanet 1,187,246 Three Rivers 366,779 Thurrock 901,153 Tonbridge and Malling 498,407 Torbay 1,137,906 Torridge 346,342 Tower Hamlets 3,881,970 Trafford 1,120,495 Tunbridge Wells 484,158 Uttlesford 233,691 Vale of White Horse 436,295 Wakefield 2,385,884 Walsall 2,137,228 Waltham Forest 2,179,682 Wandsworth 2,447,476 Warrington 1,106,189 Warwick 500,996 Watford 558,973 Waveney 697,149 Waverley 399,571 Wealden 490,517 Wellingborough 454,598 Welwyn Hatfield 600,855 West Berkshire 627,091 West Devon 248,374 West Dorset 434,912 West Lancashire 526,857 West Lindsey 458,111 West Oxfordshire 400,185 West Somerset 223,522 Westminster 2,421,284 Weymouth and Portland 455,164 Wigan 1,902,188 Wiltshire 2,018,760 Winchester 399,358 Windsor and Maidenhead 519,042 Wirral 2,234,386 Woking 398,109 Wokingham 349,850 Wolverhampton 1,977,115 Worcester 569,566 Worthing 549,408 Wychavon 466,328 Wycombe 724,691 Wyre 623,117 Wyre Forest 561,741 York 857,005 Wales Blaenau Gwent 589,022 Bridgend 841,844 Caerphilly 1,045,589 Cardiff 2,110,111 Carmarthenshire 929,120 Ceredigion 356,359 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 164,602 Conwy 659,748 Denbighshire 568,170 Flintshire 719,672 Gwynedd 653,200 Isle of Anglesey 376,828 Merthyr Tydfil 436,505 Monmouthshire 374,298 Neath Port Talbot 949,055 Newport 1,000,697 Orkney 104,606 Pembrokeshire 610,934 Powys 598,917 Rhondda Cynon Taf 1,493,363 Shetland 83,170 Swansea 1,442,129 Torfaen 662,896 Vale of Glamorgan 634,724 Wrexham 722,474 Scotland Aberdeen 994,590 Aberdeenshire 898,607 Angus 617,253 Argyll and Bute 505,935 Clackmannanshire 340,673 Dumfries and Galloway 967,125 Dundee 1,284,890 East Ayrshire 879,320 East Dunbartonshire 374,426 East Lothian 542,696 East Renfrewshire 264,620 Edinburgh 2,843,243 Falkirk 908,441 Fife 2,153,895 Glasgow 6,200,858 Highland 1,193,433 Inverclyde 686,325 Midlothian 488,876 Moray 396,407 North Ayrshire 1,073,196 North Lanarkshire 2,258,213 Perth and Kinross 694,556 Renfrewshire 1,216,850 Scottish Borders 662,940 South Ayrshire 691,064 South Lanarkshire 1,807,810 Stirling 382,704 West Dunbartonshire 870,085 West Lothian 1,081,340. ”
Schedule 2Schedule to be inserted after Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order
“SCHEDULE 1A
Additional amount of subsidy: Activities to reduce fraud and error
Article 12(1)(c)
Interpretation
1.(1)In this Schedule—
“FERIS” means the Fraud and Error Reduction Incentive Scheme in the administration of housing benefit described in the Housing Benefit Circular HB A17/2014f1;
“participating authority” means an authority which notified the Secretary of State on or before 30th January 2015 that it is participating in FERIS;
“performance”, in relation to a period, means the amount by which payments of housing benefit by the participating authority are reduced in that period as a result of relevant activities;
“relevant activities” means activities carried out by a participating authority in order to reduce fraud and error in payments of housing benefit.
(2)A reference in this Schedule to the “administration subsidy” for a participating authority for a relevant year is—
(a)in relation to the relevant year beginning on 1st April 2014, a reference to the amount specified in relation to that authority in—
(i)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S8/2013 for authorities in Wales f2;
(ii)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S9/2013 for authorities in England f3;
(iii)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S10/2013 for authorities in Scotland f4;
(b)in relation to the relevant year beginning on 1st April 2015, a reference to the amount specified in relation to that authority in—
(i)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S6/2014 for authorities in Scotland f5;
(ii)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S7/2014 for authorities in Wales f6;
(iii)the Annex to HB Subsidy Circular S8/2014 for authorities in England f7.
Additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2014
2.(1)This paragraph has effect for the purpose of determining the additional amount of subsidy payable under article 12(1)(c) for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2014.
(2)If the performance of the participating authority in the performance period—
(a)does not exceed the baseline performance of the authority in that period; or
(b)exceeds the baseline performance of the authority in that period by less than 8 per cent.,
there is no additional amount.
(3)Otherwise, the additional amount is determined as follows.
Step 1
Calculate the percentage (“the out-performance percentage”) by which the performance of the authority exceeds its baseline performance in the performance period.
Step 2
Look up the percentage (“the additional amount percentage”) specified in column (2) of the following Table in the row applicable to the authority’s out-performance percentage.
Step 3
Multiply the additional amount percentage by the administration subsidy for the authority for the relevant year.
Table
Out performance percentage (1) Additional amount percentage (2) at least 8 per cent. but less than 10 per cent. 1.75 per cent. at least 10 per cent. but less than 12 per cent. 2.1 per cent. at least 12 per cent. but less than 14 per cent. 2.45 per cent. at least 14 per cent. but less than 16 per cent. 2.8 per cent. at least 16 per cent. but less than 18 per cent. 3.15 per cent. at least 18 per cent. 3.5 per cent. (4)In this paragraph, “performance period” means the period beginning with 1st December 2014 and ending with 31st March 2015.
(5)References in this paragraph to “the baseline performance” of the authority in the performance period are to the higher of the following amounts—
(a)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period beginning with 1st December 2013 and ending with 31st March 2014 were reduced as a result of relevant activities;
(b)the average of—
(i)the amount specified in paragraph (a); and
(ii)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period beginning with 1st December 2012 and ending with 31st March 2013 were reduced as a result of relevant activities.
Additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2015
3.(1)This paragraph and paragraph 4 have effect for the purpose of determining the additional amount of subsidy payable under article 12(1)(c) for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2015.
(2)The additional amount is determined as follows—
Step 1
Calculate the percentage (“the out-performance percentage”), if any, by which the performance of the authority exceeds its baseline performance in the performance period beginning with 1st April 2015.
Step 2
Look up the percentage (“the additional amount percentage”) specified in column (2) of the following Table in the row applicable to the authority’s out-performance percentage.
Step 3
Multiply the additional amount percentage by the enhanced administration subsidy.
Step 4
Repeat Steps 1 to 3 for each of the other performance periods.
Step 5
Add the amounts determined for each performance period under Step 3.
Step 6
Add the amount, if any, determined under paragraph 4.
Table
Out-performance percentage (1) Additional amount percentage (2) less than 10 per cent. 0 per cent. at least 10 per cent. but less than 12 per cent. 1.25 per cent. at least 12 per cent. but less than 14 per cent. 1.5 per cent. at least 14 per cent. but less than 16 per cent. 1.75 per cent. at least 16 per cent. but less than 18 per cent. 2 per cent. at least 18 per cent. but less than 20 per cent. 2.25 per cent. at least 20 per cent. 2.5 per cent. (3)In this paragraph, “performance period” means the period of 3 months beginning with 1st April 2015, 1st July 2015, 1st October 2015 or 1st January 2016.
(4)In sub-paragraph (2), “enhanced administration subsidy” means 110 per cent. of the administration subsidy for the authority for the relevant year.
(5)References in this paragraph to “the baseline performance” of the authority in a performance period are to the amount determined in accordance with sub-paragraphs (6) to (9).
(6)For the performance period beginning with 1st April 2015 the baseline performance is the higher of the following amounts—
(a)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st April 2014 were reduced as a result of relevant activities;
(b)the average of—
(i)the amount specified in paragraph (a); and
(ii)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st April 2013 were reduced as a result of relevant activities.
(7)For the performance period beginning with 1st July 2015 the baseline performance is the higher of the following amounts—
(a)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st July 2014 were reduced as a result of relevant activities;
(b)the average of—
(i)the amount specified in paragraph (a); and
(ii)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st July 2013 were reduced as a result of relevant activities.
(8)For the performance period beginning with 1st October 2015 the baseline performance is the higher of the following amounts—
(a)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st October 2013 were reduced as a result of relevant activities;
(b)the average of—
(i)the amount specified in paragraph (a); and
(ii)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st October 2012 were reduced as a result of relevant activities.
(9)For the performance period beginning with 1st January 2016 the baseline performance is the higher of the following amounts—
(a)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st January 2014 were reduced as a result of relevant activities;
(b)the average of—
(i)the amount specified in paragraph (a); and
(ii)the amount by which, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the total payments of housing benefit made by the authority in the period of 3 months beginning with 1st January 2013 were reduced as a result of relevant activities.
Additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2015: supplementary
4.(1)If the performance of the participating authority in the extended performance period does not exceed the baseline performance of the authority in that period, the amount determined under this paragraph is nil.
(2)Otherwise, the amount under this paragraph is determined as follows—
Step 1
Calculate the percentage (“the out-performance percentage”) by which the performance of the authority exceeds its baseline performance in the extended performance period.
Step 2
Look up the calculation specified in column (2) of the following Table in the row applicable to the authority’s out-performance percentage and perform the calculation.
Step 3
Subtract from the amount calculated under Step 2 the sum of the amounts payable to the authority by virtue of—
(a)paragraph 2; and
(b)paragraph 3, disregarding any amount determined under this paragraph.
Table
Out-performance percentage (1) Calculation (2) less than 2 per cent. the sum of 1.75 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 5 per cent. of the 2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy at least 2 per cent. but less than 4 per cent. the sum of 2.1 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 6 per cent. of the 2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy at least 4 per cent. but less than 6 per cent. the sum of 2.45 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 7 per cent. of the 2015/16 of the enhanced administration subsidy at least 6 per cent. but less than 8 per cent. the sum of 2.8 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 8 per cent. of the 2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy at least 8 per cent. but less than 10 per cent. the sum of 3.15 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 9 per cent. of the 2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy at least 10 per cent. the sum of 3.5 per cent. of the 2014/15 administration subsidy and 10 per cent. of the 2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy (3)References in this paragraph to the “baseline performance” of the authority in the extended performance period are to the sum of—
(a)108 per cent. of the baseline performance of the authority determined under paragraph 2(5);
(b)110 per cent. of the baseline performance of the authority determined under paragraph 3(6);
(c)110 per cent. of the baseline performance of the authority determined under paragraph 3(7);
(d)110 per cent. of the baseline performance of the authority determined under paragraph 3(8); and
(e)110 per cent. of the baseline performance of the authority determined under paragraph 3(9).
(4)In this paragraph—
“2014/15 administration subsidy” means the administration subsidy for the authority for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2014;
“2015/16 enhanced administration subsidy” means 110 per cent. of the administration subsidy for the authority for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2015;
“extended performance period” means the period beginning with 1st December 2014 and ending with 31st March 2016.”
Schedule 3Part to be substituted for Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
“PART 3
WEEKLY RENT LIMITS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 2: AUTHORITIES IN ENGLAND
RELEVANT YEAR 2015-2016
Authority Weekly rent limit (£) Adur 96.11 Arun 93.35 Ashfield 70.31 Ashford 91.47 Babergh 91.80 Barking & Dagenham 101.67 Barnet 118.30 Barnsley 76.97 Barrow 77.12 Basildon 89.52 Bassetlaw 74.46 Birmingham 85.11 Blackpool 73.10 Bolsover 84.21 Bournemouth 85.28 Brent 119.20 Brentwood 97.05 Brighton & Hove 86.74 Bristol 83.44 Broxtowe 76.34 Bury 78.90 Cambridge 105.62 Camden 124.21 Cannock Chase 75.58 Canterbury 90.97 Castle Point 91.10 Central Bedfordshire 104.71 Charnwood 76.56 Cheltenham 82.61 Cheshire West & Chester 84.83 Chesterfield 81.96 City of London 111.81 City of York 81.61 Colchester 89.95 Corby 81.13 Cornwall 72.94 Crawley 106.04 Croydon 109.11 Dacorum 111.70 Darlington 72.92 Dartford 92.05 Derby 80.82 Doncaster 75.26 Dover 86.71 Dudley 85.19 Durham 72.38 Ealing 105.47 East Devon 83.42 East Riding 81.37 Eastbourne 79.65 Enfield 104.23 Epping Forest 102.18 Exeter 77.41 Fareham 92.61 Gateshead 78.70 Gloucester City 80.07 Gosport 86.34 Gravesham 92.04 Great Yarmouth 77.12 Greenwich 105.93 Guildford 113.82 Hackney 102.62 Hammersmith 119.12 Haringey 108.58 Harlow 94.96 Harrogate 82.99 Harrow 116.96 Havering 99.27 High Peak 75.32 Hillingdon 111.71 Hinckley & Bosworth 80.55 Hounslow 105.77 Hull 77.22 Ipswich 87.84 Islington 122.41 Kensington 131.74 Kettering 84.03 Kingston upon Thames 115.33 Kirklees 71.87 Lambeth 111.49 Lancaster 79.50 Leeds 75.87 Leicester 74.27 Lewes 92.17 Lewisham 98.92 Lincoln 70.77 Luton 89.27 Manchester 75.10 Mansfield 75.30 Medway 84.29 Melton 79.18 Mid Devon 80.68 Mid Suffolk 84.49 Milton Keynes 88.18 North East Derbyshire 83.59 New Forest 102.26 Newark & Sherwood 80.49 Newcastle upon Tyne 77.45 Newham 99.46 North Kesteven 78.82 North Tyneside 78.72 North Warwickshire 91.02 Northampton 85.67 Northumberland 70.22 Norwich 81.72 Nottingham 77.20 Nuneaton & Bedworth 80.06 North West Leicestershire 81.14 Oadby & Wigston 81.66 Oldham 72.17 Oxford City 112.63 Poole 87.82 Portsmouth 87.33 Reading 107.52 Redbridge 105.85 Redditch 80.74 Richmondshire 79.81 Rotherham 78.12 Rugby 88.93 Runnymede 112.72 Salford 77.14 Sandwell 83.83 Sedgemoor 79.75 Selby 80.51 Sheffield 74.05 Shepway 86.46 Shropshire 84.16 Slough 109.05 Solihull 84.59 South Cambridgeshire 109.65 South Derbyshire 81.60 South Holland 77.98 South Kesteven 81.15 South Tyneside 77.22 Southampton 87.29 Southend-on-Sea 88.62 Southwark 111.00 St Albans 116.38 Stevenage 100.93 Stockport 77.05 Stoke-on-Trent 72.52 Stroud 84.84 Sutton 110.16 Swindon 85.38 Tamworth 82.56 Tandridge 101.26 Taunton Deane 84.87 Tendring 85.95 Thanet 83.39 Thurrock 88.37 Tower Hamlets 114.00 Uttlesford 102.48 Waltham Forest 105.26 Wandsworth 128.34 Warwick 96.72 Waveney 81.44 Waverley 116.95 Wealden 87.53 Welwyn Hatfield 110.99 West Lancashire 78.24 Westminster 128.49 Wigan 80.26 Wiltshire 90.39 Winchester 104.12 Woking 106.44 Wokingham 117.21 Wolverhampton 82.23. ”
Schedule 4Part to be substituted for Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order
“PART 5
AMOUNTS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 4, PARAGRAPH 4: AUTHORITIES IN WALES
RELEVANT YEAR 2015-2016
Local authority (1) Specified amount “O”(£) (2) Guideline rent increase “P” (£) Caerphilly 74.09 4.82 Cardiff 84.91 4.27 Carmarthenshire 74.55 3.97 Denbighshire 72.40 3.89 Flintshire 75.34 3.29 Isle of Anglesey 71.25 3.90 Pembrokeshire 76.31 3.78 Powys 76.31 4.04 Swansea 73.27 3.97 Vale of Glamorgan 81.95 4.26 Wrexham 74.52 4.01. ”
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order amends the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/562) (“the 1998 Order”) which provides for the calculation and payment of housing benefit subsidy to local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland who administer those benefits. Section 140F(2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5) authorises the making, revocation or varying of an Order before, during or after the year to which it relates.
Article 2(2) and (3) have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2014 and any subsequent year beginning with 1st April. Article 2(2) substitutes article 12(1) of the 1998 Order with a new paragraph (1) which sets out how the amount of an authority’s subsidy for the relevant year is to be calculated. In particular, it allows for additional payments of subsidy to be made in certain circumstances to local authorities who participate in the Fraud and Error Reduction Incentive Scheme (“FERIS”), as notified by the Secretary of State to local authorities on 24th November 2014. Article 2(3) makes a consequential change to article 13(1) of the 1998 Order.
Participating authorities are given funding to carry out activities with a view to reducing fraud and error in relation to the payment of housing benefit. The Secretary of State then sets a threshold for expected performance in reducing fraud and error in a specified period for each such authority based on the authority’s performance in making such reductions in a previous equivalent period. Additional payments are then made to the authority, the amounts depending on the extent to which the authority exceeds the threshold for reducing housing benefit payments in each such period by virtue of those activities. Provision is also made for a further additional payment to be made to the authority based on performance in reducing housing benefit payments over the entire course of the scheme.
New Schedule 1A to the 1998 Order, which is inserted by article 2(5) and set out in Schedule 2 to this Order, sets out how the additional payments of subsidy in respect of FERIS are to be calculated.
Hard copies of the circulars explaining FERIS and the amounts of the administration subsidy on which payments are based are available from the Department for Work and Pensions, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA.
Article 2(4) sets out new figures to be used in the calculation of subsidy payable to an authority for the year beginning with 1st April 2014 by substituting Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order with Schedule 1 to this Order.
Article 3 has effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2014 and any subsequent year beginning with 1st April. It inserts new paragraphs (6ZB), (6ZC) and (6ZD) into article 18 of the 1998 Order which provide that where a local authority receives real time information in respect of an overpayment and makes a revision or supersession decision within 4 weeks (subject to extension where further information is required), that overpayment will not be treated as an authority error overpayment or administrative delay overpayment for the purposes of calculating additional amounts of subsidy payable to an authority.
Article 4 has effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2015. Article 4(2)(a) amends paragraph 3 of Schedule 4A to provide that the rebate proportion figure for 2015/2016 is 0.746. Article 4(2)(b) substitutes Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order in respect of weekly rent limits for authorities in England. With respect to authorities in Wales, article 4(2)(c) substitutes Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order which sets out the specified amount “O” and the guideline rent increase “P” used when calculating deductions from subsidy under paragraph 4 in Part 4 of that Schedule.
Article 5 removes references to community charge benefit from the 1998 Order which are now obsolete as it was replaced by council tax benefit in 1993.
An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on business or civil society organisations.