Citation and interpretation

1.-(1) This order may be cited as the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1982 .

(2) In this order "the Act" means the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982.

Appointed days

2.-(1) The day appointed for the coming into operation-

(a)of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this order shall be 19th July 1982;

(b)of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 to this order shall be 22nd November 1982;

(c)of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 3 to this order shall be 1st April 1983;

(d)of the provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 4 to this order shall be 4th April 1983.

and of section 28(1) to (4) of the Act shall be in accordance with following paragraphs of this article.

(2) The provisions of section 28(1) to (4) of the Act shall come into operation as follows:-

(a)on 22nd November in so far as they relate to rate rebate or rent rebate; and in their application to a person and his partner where that person fulfils the following condition:-

(i)he or his partner is a tenant of a housing authority and that if he is a joint tenant he is a joint tenant only with his partner,

(ii)he is entitled to qualifying supplementary benefit,

(iii)his dwelling is occupied as a home only by himself or persons who are members of his assessment unit,

(iv)the amount of qualifying supplementary benefit to which he is entitled exceeds his housing requirements, and

(v)he is not a person to whom section 8(1) or 9 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976(1) (persons affected by or returning to work after a trade dispute) applies;

(b)On 1st April 1983 to the extent that they are not then in operation in so far as they relate to rate rebate and in their application to a person, and his partner, where that person is not a tenant of a housing authority;

(c)on 4th April 1983 for all other purposes.

(3) In paragraph (2) of this Article-

(a)"assessment unit" means an assessment unit, being a claimant, partner and any dependant of his, within the meaning of regulation 2 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1980 (2) ("Requirements Regulations");

(b)the reference to a person's "housing requirements" is to housing requirements assessed under the following provisions of the Requirements Regulations as though they applied to that person:-

(i)regulation 15 ,

(ii) regulation 19(a),

(iii) regulation 19(b) in so far as it relates to sewerage and allied environmental services in Scotland,

(iv)regulation 19(e),

(v)regulation 19(g) in so far as it relates to the provisions set out in heads (ii) to (iv) above;

(c)"partner" means a member of a married couple, being a man and woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household, or of an unmarried couple, being a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife as members of the same household;

(d)"qualifying supplementary benefit" means supplementary pension or allowance under section 1 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 which is payable to a person who for the purposes of the Requirements Regulations is responsible for housing expenditure except any such pension or allowance which is payable in accordance with section 4 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 for the period to which regulation 5(3)(a) of the Supplementary Benefit (Urgent Cases) Regulations 1981 (first 14 days) applies.

Transitional provision and savings

3.-(1) Where by virtue of Article 2(1)(c) or (2) of this order an enactment mentioned in paragraphs 5, 6, 19, 27, 28 or 35(2) of Schedule 4 to the Act is to be amended with effect from respectively 1st or 4th April 1983 by the substitution, for a reference to any subsidy or scheme under an enactment repealed or to be repealed by or under the Act, of a reference to the corresponding subsidy or scheme under the Act, any reference in the enactment to be so amended to that subsidy or scheme shall be treated until that date as including a reference to any corresponding subsidy payable under the Act or any scheme in force under the Act.

(2) Payment of any subsidy under any enactment repealed with effect from 4th April 1983 by section 32(7) of the Act and Article 2(1) (d) of this order may be made after that date, but only in respect of a period ending before that date, as though the enactment had not been repealed.

Article 2(1)(a)

SCHEDULE 1

Provisions of the Act for which 19th July 1982 is appointed as the day of coming into operation.

Article 2(1)(b)

SCHEDULE 2

Provisions of the Act for which 22nd November 1982 is appointed as the day of coming into operation.

Article 2(1)(c)

SCHEDULE 3

Provisions of the Act for which 1st April 1983 is appointed as the day of coming into operation.

Article 2(1)(d)

SCHEDULE 4

Provisions of the Act for which 4th April 1983 is appointed as the day of coming into operation.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order brings into force those provisions of the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982 concerned with housing benefits and related matters. Those provisions which relate to subsidies to authorities are to come into force on 19th July 1982. Those provisions relating to the duty of the Secretary of State to review the needs allowances for the purposes of housing benefits are brought into force on 22nd November 1982. The provisions concerned with rate rebates and rent rebates are brought into operation, for certain housing authority tenants who are in receipt of supplementary benefit, on 22nd November 1982 and for all other purposes on 4th April 1983, apart from the provisions for rate rebates for people who are not housing authority tenants, which are brought into operation on 1st April 1983. The remaining provisions are also brought into force on 1st April 1983 where they are relevant to the provision of rate rebates or on 4th April 1983 where they relate to other purposes of repeals. The order contains a transitional provision and savings relating to payments of subsidies to housing authorities.

NOTE AS TO EARLIER COMMENCEMENT ORDER

The following provisions of the Act have been brought into force by commencement order made before the date of this Order:-