Title, commencement, interpretation and application

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources and Sums for Personal Requirements) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2009.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 6 April 2009.

(3) In these Regulations, “the Principal Regulations” (“y Prif Reoliadau”) means the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992(3).

(4) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Sums needed for personal requirements

2.  The sum which a local authority assumes a person to need for his or her personal requirements under section 22(4) of the National Assistance Act 1948(4) is £22.00 per week.

Revocation

3.  Regulations 2, 3, 4, 5 of the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources and Sums for Personal Requirements) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2008(5) are hereby revoked.

Amendment of regulation 28A of the Principal Regulations

4.  In paragraph (2) of regulation 28A of the Principal Regulations (Calculation of tariff income from capital — Wales) replace the figure “£19,000” with the figure “£20,750” in both places where it appears.

Amendment of Schedule 3 to the Principal Regulations

5.  In paragraph 28H—

(a)in sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) replace the figure “£5.45” with the figure “£5.65” at each place where it appears; and

(b)in sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) replace the figure of “£8.15” with the figure “£8.45” in each place where it appears.

Amendment of Schedule 4 to the Principal Regulations

6.  In Schedule 4 to the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 (capital to be disregarded)—

(a)in paragraph 2(2) for “whom the resident is liable to maintain by virtue of section 42(1) of the National Assistance Act 1948 (liability to maintain wife or husband and children).” substitute “of the resident”; and

(b)after sub-paragraph (2) insert—

“(3) In this paragraph a reference to a child shall be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Family Law Reform Act 1987(6).”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations set the weekly sum which local authorities are to assume, in the absence of special circumstances, that residents who are in accommodation arranged under Part 3 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (“the Act”), will need for their personal requirements. From 6 April 2009 all such residents will be assumed to need £22.00 per week.

Secondly, these Regulations make further amendments to the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 (“the Principal Regulations”).

The Principal Regulations determine the way that local authorities assess the ability of a person to pay for accommodation arranged for him or her under the Act.

The amendments provide for an increase in the lower capital limit and an increase in the amount of savings credit to be disregarded.