Regulation 2 Amendment of the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 and the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987

For paragraph 29 of Schedule 4 to the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992^f1 and paragraph 28 of Schedule 4 to the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987^f2 (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) there shall be substituted the following paragraph bearing the respective paragraph number—

“—

(1)

Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any payment received under an insurance policy taken out to insure against the risk of being unable to maintain repayments—

(a)

on a loan which is secured on the dwelling which the claimant occupies as his home; or

(b)

under a regulated agreement as defined for the purposes of the Consumer Credit Act 1974^f3 or under a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement as defined for the purposes of Part III of the Hire-Purchase Act 1964^f4.

(2)

A payment referred to in sub-paragraph (1) shall only be disregarded to the extent that the payment received under that policy does not exceed the amounts, calculated on a weekly basis, which are used to—

(a)

maintain the repayments referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a) or, as the case may be, (b); and

(b)

meet any amount due by way of premiums on—

(i)

that policy; or

(ii)

in a case to which sub-paragraph (1)(a) applies, an insurance policy taken out to insure against loss or damage to any building or part of a building which is occupied by the claimant as his home and which is required as a condition of the loan referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a).”.