Guidance

A1/2022: The Social Security (Income and Capital Disregards) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Updated 20 December 2022

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-adjudication-circulars-2022/a12022-the-social-security-income-and-capital-disregards-amendment-regulations-2021

Who should read

All Housing Benefit (HB) staff

Action

For information

Subject

The Social Security (Income and Capital Disregards) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Guidance Manual

The information in this circular does affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual. Please annotate this circular number against BW1 1.180, BW2 Annex B and BP1 1.181

Queries

Extra copies of this circular/copies of previous circulars can be found at Housing Benefit for local authorities: adjudication circulars.

The Social Security (Income and Capital Disregards) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Introduction

1. This circular provides guidance on the Social Security (Income and Capital Disregards)(Amendment) Regulations (SI 2021/1405) which were laid on 10 December 2021 and came into force on 1 January 2022. Background

2. SI 2021/1405 provides that compensation payments made:

  • by schemes established or approved by the Secretary of State (SOS) for Work and Pensions to compensate for historical institutional child abuse in the United Kingdom, or under the Home Office’s Windrush Compensation Scheme

do not affect entitlement to means-tested benefits, including Housing Benefit (HB).

3. On 10 December 2021 the SOS approved a number of redress schemes for the purposes of means-tested benefits, including HB. The schemes for the historical institutional child abuse in the UK approved for the purpose of these regulations at the point when they came into force are:

  • Historical Institutional Abuse (NI) Act 2019

  • Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021

  • Lambeth Children’s Homes Redress Scheme

  • The London Borough of Islington’s proposed support payment scheme

4. Should further schemes be approved by SOS in the future, additional guidance will be issued. Definitions

5. SI 2021/1405 inserts new definitions into the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/213) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/214).

Child abuse payment

6. Child abuse payment means a payment from a scheme established or approved by SOS for the purpose of providing compensation in respect of historic institutional child abuse in the UK.

7. A child abuse payment may also include an element paid in respect of a person having been in ‘harm’s way’. This means that the person might not have suffered actual abuse but was in an environment where they were at risk.

Windrush payment

8. Windrush payment means a payment made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Act 2020.

Qualifying person

9. In the definition of qualifying person, a child abuse or Windrush payment is inserted into regulation 2 of SI 2006/213 and SI 2006/214. This means any person that receives a payment from these schemes is added to the definition of a qualifying person.

Effect on capital

10. Any one-off payment of capital made from historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme is disregarded indefinitely.

11. For the purposes of SI 2006/213 any payment in kind made from historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme is disregarded indefinitely.

Notional capital

12. For the purposes of SI 2006/213 capital paid:

  • to a third party for the claimant or their partner or

  • to the claimant or their partner for a third party

is not to be treated as notional capital where the payment is made under historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Effect on income

13. Fully disregard any:

  • payments of income made from historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme in SI 2006/213

  • income from capital that was received from historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme in both SI 2006/213 and SI 2006/214

14. Payments from historical child abuse compensation schemes established or approved by SOS or the Windrush Compensation Scheme are also disregarded for the following purposes:

  • income in kind

  • payments to a third party in respect of a claimant or their partner

  • non-dependants’ gross weekly income for the purposes of calculation of non-dependant deductions

  • income treated as capital

15. Payments of income from historical child abuse schemes and the Windrush Compensation Scheme are not prescribed income for the purposes of SI 2006/214.

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