Contents
Part 1 · General
1Citation, commencement and interpretation#
(1)These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation –
(a)for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 21, on 6th April 2003;
(b)for all other purposes, on 6th October 2003.
(2)In these Regulations –• “the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987;• “the qualifying age for state pension credit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(2)(b) and (6) of the State Pension Credit Act;• “the State Pension Credit Act” means the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002.
(3)The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
(4)In Part 2 reference to any provision inserted in the Housing Benefit Regulations to a regulation of or Schedule to those Regulations is to those provisions as modified or amended by these Regulations.
Part IV · Consequential and transitional provisions
21Claims made before 6th October 2003#
(1)This regulation applies if –
(a)a claim is made or treated as made for housing benefit on or after 6th April 2003;
(b)the claim is made by a person who has attained, or whose partner has attained, the qualifying age for state pension credit or who will attain or whose partner will attain that age on or before 6th October 2003; and
(c)the person making the claim does not satisfy the conditions for entitlement to housing benefit.
(2)If in the opinion of the relevant authority determining the claim, the conditions for claiming housing benefit will be satisfied on 6th October 2003 unless there is a change in the claimant’s circumstances, the authority may –
(a)treat the claim as if made for a period beginning on 6th October 2003, and
(b)award benefit accordingly, but subject to the condition that the claimant does in fact satisfy those conditions when benefit becomes payable under the award.
(3)A decision under paragraph (2)(b) to award housing benefit may be revised under paragraph 3 of Schedule 7 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 if the requirements for entitlement to housing benefit is found not to have been satisfied on 6th October 2003.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.