
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation as follows—
(a) for the purposes of regulations 1, 3 and 8(b), on 1st April 1997; and
(b) for the purposes of regulations 2, 4 to 8(a) and 9—
(i) in any case to which paragraph (2) applies, on 1st April 1997, and
(ii) in any other case, on 7th April 1997.
(2) This paragraph applies in any case where—
(a) rent is payable at intervals of one month or any other interval which is not a week or a multiple thereof, or
(b) payments by way of rates are not made together with payments of rent at weekly intervals or multiples thereof.
(3) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987.
(4) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
2 
In regulation 18(1)(b) of the principal Regulations (patients) “8 or” shall be omitted.
3 
In regulation 35 of the principal Regulations (notional income)—
(a) after paragraph (4A) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—“
(4B) Paragraph (4C) shall apply where a claimant is in receipt of both child benefit and an increase in child benefit under regulation 2(2) of the Child Benefit and Social Security (Fixing and Adjustment of Rates) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976 (increase in respect of the only, elder or eldest child of a single parent) in respect of the week up to 6th April 1997.
(4C) In a case where this paragraph applies, the appropriate authority shall, in a case in which the claimant’s weekly amount of eligible rent or, as the case may be, rates falls to be calculated in accordance with regulation 69(2)(b) or, as the case may be, (3)(b) (calculation of weekly amounts), treat the claimant, for the period from and including 1st April 1997 to 6th April 1997, as possessing any child benefit which is payable to him from and including 7th April 1997 at the rates specified in regulation 2(1)(a)(ii) (weekly rate for only, elder or eldest child of a lone parent) and, as the case may be, (b) (weekly rate for other children) of the Child Benefit and Social Security (Fixing and Adjustment of Rates) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976, to the extent that such child benefit is payable to him at those rates from and including that date.”;
(b) in paragraph (6) after “(4A)” there shall be inserted “and (4C)”.
4 
In regulation 48A(2)(b) of the principal Regulations (full-time students to be treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling) for “the lone parent premium” there shall be substituted “a family premium under paragraph 3(a) of Schedule 2 (applicable amounts)”.
5 
In regulation 51(2)(c)(i) of the principal Regulations (eligible rent) for “the lone parent premium” there shall be substituted “a family premium under paragraph 3(a) of Schedule 2”.
6 
In Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations—
(a) in Part II (family premium), in paragraph 3 after “shall be” there shall be inserted—“—
(a) where the claimant is a lone parent and no premium is applicable under paragraph 9, 9A, 10 or 11, £22·05;
(b) in any other case,”;
(b) in Part III (premiums)—
(i) in paragraph 4 for “paragraphs 8” there shall be substituted “paragraphs 9”;
(ii) paragraph 8 (lone parent premium) shall be omitted;
(c) in Part IV (amounts of premiums specified in Part III), in paragraph 15, the entries in both columns of sub-paragraph (1) (lone parent premium) shall be omitted.
7 
In Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings) in paragraph 4 for “lone parent premium under” there shall be substituted “family premium under paragraph 3(a) of”.
8 
In Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations (sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings)—
(a) in paragraph 50(1) for “the family premium” there shall be substituted “a family premium”;
(b) after paragraph 63 there shall be inserted the following paragraph—“
64 
Where regulation 35(4C) applies to a claimant and—
(a) he is in receipt of both child benefit and an increase in child benefit under regulation 2(2) of the Child Benefit and Social Security (Fixing and Adjustment of Rates) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976 (increase in respect of the only, elder or eldest child of a single parent) in respect of the week up to 6th April 1997; and
(b) child benefit is payable to him from and including 7th April 1997 at the rates specified in regulation 2(1)(a)(ii) (weekly rate for only, elder or eldest child of a lone parent) and, as the case may be, (b) of those Regulations (weekly rate for other children) as payable from that date,any child benefit and increase in child benefit specified in sub-paragraph (a) to the extent that it is payable in respect of the period from and including 1st April 1997 to 6th April 1997.”.
9 
In paragraph 2(c)(ii) of Schedule 5A to the principal Regulations (conditions for an extended payment of housing benefit) for “paragraph 8 (lone parent premium)” there shall be substituted “paragraph 3(a) (rate of family premium applicable to a lone parent)”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on
John O'Neill
Assistant Secretary
6th January 1997.The Department of the Environment hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland on
R. E. Aiken
Assistant Secretary
6th January 1997.