Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation as follows –

(a)for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 3, on 31st March 2003, and

(b)for all other purposes on 1st April 2003.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(7) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of the Housing Benefit Regulations

2.—(1) The Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(8) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraph.

(2) In regulation 68 (date on which change of circumstances is to take effect) –

(a)in paragraph (1)(9) –

(i)“either” shall be omitted,

(ii)for “paragraphs (2) to (8)” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (1A) to (8)”.

(b)After paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –

“(1A) Where –

(a)the change of circumstances in question is –

(i)the commencement of entitlement to a working tax credit or a child tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002(10) on 6th April 2003, or

(ii)the end, on 7th April 2003, of a period for which an award of a working families' tax credit or a disabled person’s tax credit is payable, and

(b)that change of circumstances would not, but for this paragraph, take effect on 7th April 2003,

that change of circumstances shall take effect on 7th April 2003.”.

Amendment of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment) Regulations

3.  In regulation 3(3) of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(11) (amendment of regulation 72 of the principal regulations) for “an income-based jobseeker’s allowance” there shall be substituted “or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

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

Regulation 2(2) provides for the date on which the changes of circumstances occasioned by the abolition of working families' tax credit and disabled person’s tax credit and the introduction of working tax credit and child tax credit are to take effect for the purposes of determining entitlement to housing benefit.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 3(3) of the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 to provide for the date of claim in a case to a claim for housing benefit where the income-based jobseeker’s allowance is claimed but there is no entitlement.

These Regulations do not impose any charge on business.