Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2024 and comes into force on 29th November 2024.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

Amendment of the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998 and effect of amendments

2.—(1) The Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998( 4) is amended in accordance with articles 3 to 9.

(2) Articles 3,6and 8, and the Schedule, have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year( 5) beginning with 1st April 2023.

(3) Articles 4 and 5 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2024 and any subsequent relevant year.

(4) Articles 7 and 9 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2024.

(5) In this article, “ relevant year” means the year in respect of which a claim for subsidy is made.

Housing Benefit Assurance Process

3.  In article 2 (interpretation of Parts 2 and 4), in the definition of “HBAP”, for “17th April 2023” substitute “1st April 2024”( 6).

Amendment relating to self-contained accommodation

4.  In article 17 (subsidy in respect of non self-contained licensed accommodation, and board and lodging accommodation, provided by an authority as temporary or short term accommodation), for paragraph (4) substitute—

“(4)  For the purposes of this article and articles 17A, 17B and 17C, accommodation is self-contained if P’s household has the exclusive use of a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet. ”.

Amendment relating to technical overpayment

5.  In article 18 (additions to subsidy), for paragraph (7A) substitute—

“(7A)  A technical overpayment does not include any part of the overpayment occurring before the day on which the liability was reduced or eliminated. ”.

The amount of an authority’s subsidy

6.  For Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy) substitute the Schedule 1 set out in the Schedule to this Order.

Additional amount of subsidy: Verify Earnings and Pension Alerts Service

7.  In paragraph 2 of Schedule 1ZB (additional amount of subsidy: Verify Earnings and Pension Alerts Service)—

(a) in the heading, for “1st April 2023” substitute “1st April 2024”;

(b) for “1st April 2023” substitute “1st April 2024”;

(c) for “Housing Benefit Circular HB S7/2023” to the end substitute “Housing Benefit Circular HB S6/2024 first published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 23rd April 2024( 7)”.

Additional amount of subsidy: Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative

8.  In Schedule 1ZC (additional amount of subsidy: Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative)—

(a) in paragraph 1 (interpretation), in the definition of “HBAAI”, for “Housing Benefit Circular HB A5/2022” to the end of that definition substitute “Housing Benefit Circular HB A4/2023 first published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 4th April 2023( 8)”;

(b) in paragraph 2 (additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2022)—

(i) in the heading, for “1st April 2022” substitute “1st April 2023”;

(ii) for “1st April 2022” substitute “1st April 2023”;

(iii) for “following Housing Benefits Circulars” to the end substitute “Housing Benefit Circular HB S6/2023 first published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 27th April 2023( 9)”.

Rent rebate deductions from the subsidy of an authority in Wales

9.  In Schedule 4A (rent rebate limitation deductions (Housing Revenue Account dwellings): authorities in Wales)—

(a) in paragraph 3(2), for “1st April 2023 is 0.44” substitute “1st April 2024 is 0.397”;

(b) for paragraph 4, but not including the heading, substitute—

“4.   The amounts for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2024 for the purposes of paragraph 2 are as follows—

Article 6

Schedule Substitution of Schedule 1 to the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998

Article 12(1)(b)

“Schedule 1 Sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998 ( S.I. 1998/562) (“ the 1998 Order”) which provides for the calculation and payment of housing benefit subsidy to local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland which administer housing benefit. Sections 140C(4) and 140F(2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5)authorise the making, revocation or varying of an Order before, during or after the year to which it relates.

Article 3 updates the definition of “HBAP” in article 2 of the 1998 Order to refer to the appropriate version of the Housing Benefit Assurance Process, published on 1st April 2024. Article 4 updates the meaning of “ self-contained accommodation” for the purposes of articles 17 to 17C of the 1998 Order. Article 5 makes a correction to paragraph (7A), the definition of “ technical overpayment” for the purposes of article 18 of the 1998 Order.

Article 6 and the Schedule substitute Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order, which prescribes the sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy for the year beginning with 1st April 2023.

Article 7 amends Schedule 1ZB to the 1998 Order, which prescribes a system for the making of additional payments of subsidy to authorities administering alerts relating to the earnings and pension entitlement of claimants for housing benefit. The amendments to Schedule 1ZB have effect for the purposes of determining additional amounts of subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2024. The amounts were notified by the Secretary of State to local authorities on 23rd April 2024.

Article 8 amends Schedule 1ZC to the 1998 Order. The definition of “HBAAI” in paragraph 1 of that Schedule is updated to refer to the most recent version of the Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative, published on 4th April 2023. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1ZC prescribes a system for the making of additional payments of subsidy to authorities verifying the accuracy of information held in respect of the household, income and capital, and general financial circumstances of claimants for housing benefit. The amendments to Schedule 1ZC have effect for the purposes of determining additional amounts of subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2023. The amounts were notified by the Secretary of State to local authorities on 27th April 2023 and revised on 19th December 2023.

Article 9 amends Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order, to update the rebate proportion figure for 2024/2025 to 0.397, and to set out revised specified amounts “O” and guideline rent increases “P” used when calculating deductions from subsidy under paragraph 2 of Schedule 4A. The amendments to Schedule 4A have effect for the purposes of determining subsidy payable for the year beginning with 1st April 2024 for authorities in Wales.

Hard copies of the circulars referenced in this Order are available by writing to the Department for Work and Pensions, Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery Division, Peel Park Phase 2, First Floor Blue Zone, Brunel Way, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 5ES or by emailing[email protected].

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.