Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.-(1) This Order, which may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Implementation Subsidy) Order 1987, shall come into force on 7th December 1987.

(2) In this Order-

"the Act" means the Social Security Act 1986;

"administration costs" means the costs incurred by an authority in running the housing benefit scheme under Part II of the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982(4), including the costs of staff, staff training, office services, computer software, stationery and publicity materials but excluding the cost of benefit;

"authority" means a rating authority, housing authority or local authority within the meaning of sections 30(1) and 84(1) of the Act;

"estimate" means an estimate submitted to the Secretary of State by an authority on or before 27th April 1987 in the case of an estimate of implementation costs and on or before 31st December 1986 in the case of any other estimate;

"implementation costs" means the costs incurred in the 12 months ending with 31st March 1988 by an authority in implementing the housing benefit scheme under Part II of the Act, including the costs of staff, staff training, office services, computer software, stationery and publicity materials but excluding the cost of benefit;

"proportionate assessment" means an amount calculated under paragraph 2 of the Schedule to this Order;

"relevant financial year" means the 12 months ending with 31st March 1987;

"subsidy" means the subsidy payable by the Secretary of State to an authority for the financial year 1987-88 under section 30(4) of the Act in connection with the costs incurred by the authority in implementing the housing benefit scheme.

Calculation of subsidy

2.  The Schedule to this Order shall have effect for specifying the manner in which, subject to section 30(9) of the Act, the subsidy payable to an authority is to be calculated.

Article 2

SCHEDULECALCULATION OF THE SUBSIDY

1.  Subject to paragraph 4 below the amount of subsidy payable to any authority shall be calculated as an amount equal to-

(a)the estimate of the implementation costs of that authority; or

(b)the sum which, in the case of that authority, is appropriate under paragraph 3 below;

whichever is the less.

2.  For the purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 below for each authority there shall be calculated a proportionate assessment, based on its estimates for the relevant financial year of its administration costs and of the number of recipients of housing benefit in its area, in accordance with the formula-

3.  Where the proportionate assessment calculated for any authority is of an amount specified in any paragraph of column (1) of the Table below, the sum which for the purposes of paragraph 1(b) above is appropriate in the case of that authority is the sum specified opposite in column (2) or, as the case may be, a sum calculated as specified there.

4.  The amount of subsidy payable to any authority which has not submitted an estimate of its implementation costs shall-

(a)if the proportionate assessment calculated for that authority is not more than £20,000, be calculated as an amount equal to the sum specified in column (2) of the Table in paragraph 3 above opposite paragraph (i) or (ii), as the case may be, of column (1);

(b)if the proportionate assessment calculated for that authority is more than £20,000, be calculated as an amount equal, subject to rounding down to the nearest £1,000-

(i)to the proportionate assessment, if it is not more than £50,000;

(ii)in any other case, to the aggregate of the sums arrived at by calculating in respect of each portion of that assessment specified in column (1) of the Table below the percentage specified opposite to it in column (2).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order specifies the manner in which the subsidy payable to authorities implementing the housing benefit scheme under Part II of the Social Security Act 1986 is to be calculated.