Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Amendment Order 2018 and comes into force on 15th October 2018.

(2) Article 3(2) and Schedule 1 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2017.

(3) Articles 3(1)(a) and (3) and 4 and Schedules 2, 3 and 4 have effect for the purpose of determining subsidy payable for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018.

(4) Articles 3(1)(b) and (4) and 5 have effect from 1st April 2018.

(5) In this Order—

“the 1998 Order” means he Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998( 4 );

“relevant year” means the period of a year beginning on 1st April in the calendar year in respect of which a claim for subsidy is made.

Amendment of the 1998 Order

2. The 1998 Order is amended in accordance with articles 3 to 5.

The amount of an authority’s subsidy

3. —(1) In article 12(1) (amount of subsidy)( 5 )—

(a) after sub-paragraph (b), insert—

“ (bza) the additional amount specified by Schedule 1ZB (additional amount of subsidy: verify earnings and pension alerts service); and ” .

(b) omit sub-paragraph (ba)( 6 ) and the “and” immediately after it.

(2) For Schedule 1 (sums to be used in the calculation of subsidy)( 7 ) substitute the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.

(3) After the substituted Schedule 1 insert the Schedule 1ZB set out in Schedule 2 to this Order.

(4) Omit Schedule 1ZA (additional amount of subsidy: right benefit initiative)( 8 ).

Rent rebate deductions from an authority’s subsidy

4. —(1)Schedule 4A (rent rebate limitation deductions (housing revenue account dwellings))( 9 ) is amended as follows.

(2) In Part 2 (England), in paragraph 3 (amount of deduction), for sub-paragraph (3)( 10 ) substitute—

“ (3) The rebate proportion for 2018-19 is 0.756. ” .

(3) For Part 3 (weekly rent limits for purposes of Part 2: authorities in England)( 11 ), substitute the Part 3 set out in Schedule 3 to this Order.

(4) For Part 5 (amounts for purposes of Part 4, paragraph 4: authorities in Wales)( 12 ), substitute the Part 5 set out in Schedule 4 to this Order.

Subsidy claims made by authorities in England

5. —(1) In article 2 (interpretation of Parts 2 and 4), insert in the appropriate places the following definitions—

“ “HBAP” means the Housing Benefit Assurance Process published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 29th March 2017 and last updated on 27th March 2018 ( 13 ) ; ” ;

“ “report of factual findings” means the report completed by the reporting accountant in accordance with HBAP setting out the details of, and the relevant matters arising from, the test; ” ;

“ “test” means a test of the claim for final subsidy by the authority and the reporting accountant in accordance with HBAP and “tested” shall be construed accordingly. ” .

(2) In article 3A (electronic communications)( 14 ), in paragraph (1)—

(a) for “or auditor” substitute “a reporting accountant or an auditor”

(b) after “claim,” insert “test,”.

(3) In article 4 (requirement of claim)( 15 ), in paragraph (3), for the words from “the authority’s auditor” to the end of the paragraph substitute—

“ —

(a) in the case of an authority in England, the authority’s reporting accountant;

(b) in the case of an authority in Wales or Scotland, the authority’s auditor,

by 30th April in the following year ” .

(4) In article 5 (requirement to keep records and provide information)( 16 ), in paragraph (2)—

(a) before sub-paragraph (a) insert—

“ (za) in relation to an authority in England, the claim is in accordance with the report of factual findings and with the relevant articles of this Order; ” ;

(b) at the beginning of sub-paragraph (a) insert “in relation to an authority in Wales or Scotland,”.

(5) After article 5 insert—

“ Test and reporting requirement: authorities in England

5A. —(1) In relation to an authority in England and subject to article 9(4), the third condition is that the authority shall—

(a) inform the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of the authority’s reporting accountant by 1st March in the year before the relevant year;

(b) procure the test of the final claim by the reporting accountant;

(c) send the report of factual findings to the Secretary of State by 30th November in the year after the relevant year; and

(d) comply with the following provisions of this article.

(2) The authority shall—

(a) provide such information in written or electronic form;

(b) keep, and where asked to do so, produce records in written or electronic form with a bearing on its claim,

as may be required by the reporting accountant to enable the reporting accountant to test the claim and to complete the report of factual findings.

(3) Where the authority does not inform the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of its reporting accountant by 1st March in the year before the relevant year, the Secretary of State may withhold payment of subsidy until the authority—

(a) informs the Secretary of State in writing of the identity of its reporting accountant; or

(b) provides reasons for the delay which the Secretary of State regards as satisfactory.

(4) No final subsidy shall be paid until—

(a) the authority’s reporting accountant has confirmed in writing that the claim has been tested; and

(b) the Secretary of State has received the report of factual findings. ” .

(6) In article 6 (requirement of audit)( 17 )—

(a) at the end of the heading insert “: authorities in Wales and Scotland”;

(b) in paragraph (1)—

(i) at the beginning insert “In relation to an authority in Wales or Scotland, and”;

(ii) omit sub-paragraphs (iza) and (ia).

(7) In article 8A (payment of subsidy before audit complete)( 18 )—

(a) before “audit”, in each place where that word occurs (including the heading), insert “test or”;

(b) in paragraph (1), after “yet been” insert “tested in accordance with article 5A or”.

(8) In article 9 (payment of subsidy for the relevant year)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (a) insert—

“ (aa) in the case of an authority in England, the report of factual findings has been properly completed; ” ;

(ii) at the beginning of sub-paragraph (b) insert “in the case of an authority in Wales or Scotland,”;

(b) in paragraph (3), after “occurred” insert “or, as the case may be, once the report of factual findings has been sent to the Secretary of State”.

(9) In Schedule 6 (electronic communications)( 19 )—

(a) in paragraph 2, after “An authority”, in each place where those words occur, insert “, reporting accountant”;

(b) in paragraph 3(b), after “authorities” insert “, reporting accountants”.

Article 3(2)

SCHEDULE 1 Schedule to be substituted for Schedule 1 to the 1998 Order

Article 12(1)(b)

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

Article 3(3)

SCHEDULE 2 New Schedule 1ZB to 1998 Order

Article 12(1)(bza)

“ SCHEDULE 1ZB Additional amount of subsidy: Verify Earnings and Pension Alerts Service

Interpretation

1. In this Schedule—

“relevant activities” means activities carried out by authorities receiving VEP alerts to administer those alerts;

“VEP alerts” means alerts given by the Secretary of State to authorities with a view to enabling authorities to prevent fraud and error arising from real time identification of changes of income.

Additional amount: relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018

2. The additional amount of subsidy for an authority for the relevant year beginning with 1st April 2018 is the amount specified for that authority in the Housing Benefit Circular HB S10/2018 published by the Department for Work and Pensions on 2nd May 2018 ( 20 ) .

Use of amount paid under paragraph 2

3. An authority must use the additional amount received under paragraph 2 in connection with relevant activities. ”

Article 4(3)

SCHEDULE 3 Substitution of Part 3 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order

“ PART 3 WEEKLY RENT LIMITS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 2: AUTHORITIES IN ENGLAND

Article 4(4)

SCHEDULE 4 Substitution of Part 5 of Schedule 4A to the 1998 Order

“ PART 5 AMOUNTS FOR PURPOSES OF PART 4, PARAGRAPH 4: AUTHORITIES IN WALES