HOUSING; RATES Citation, commencement and interpretation 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 and shall come into operation on 12th April 2004. 2 In these Regulations – “the Housing Benefit Regulations ” means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 ; “the State Pension Credit Regulations ” means the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 . 3 The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly. Amendment of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2 1 The Housing Benefit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3). 2 In paragraph 16(2) of Schedule 3 (sums to be di20egarded in the calculation of earnings) – a in head (b) – i sub-paragraph (ii)(bb) shall be omitted; ii in sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv), for “30 hours” there shall be substituted “16 hours”, and iii in sub-paragraph (iv), “or both members are”, shall be omitted, and b after head (b), there shall be inserted the following head – or c the claimant is, or if he has a partner, one of them is, a person to whom regulation 18(3) of the Working Tax Credit Regulations (eligibility for 50 plus element) applies, or would apply if an application for working tax credit were to be made in his case. . 3 In paragraph 61 of Schedule 4 to those Regulations (sums to be di20egarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) – a before “paragraph 16” there shall be inserted “sub-paragraph (1) of”, and b for the words from “entitled” to “2002” there shall be substituted “a person who satisfies any of the conditions of sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph”. Amendment of the State Pension Credit Regulations 3 1 The State Pension Credit Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4). 2 In regulation 8 (income and capital), in paragraph (4) of the substituted regulation 23 (calculation of claimant’s income and capital in savings credit only cases) – a in sub-paragraph (c) – i after head (iii) there shall be inserted “or”, and ii head (v) and the word “or” which precedes it shall be omitted, and b after sub-paragraph (c) there shall be inserted – cc any amount to be di20egarded by virtue of paragraph 9(1) of Schedule 3A; . 3 In Schedule 2 (disregards), in the First Schedule (which is to have effect as Schedule 3A to the Housing Benefit Regulations ) – a in paragraph 5(1)(a), after head (v) there shall be inserted – vi the disability element or the severe disability element of working tax credit under Schedule 2 to the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002 ; , and b in paragraph 9(2)(b) – i sub-paragraph (ii)(bb) shall be omitted; ii in sub-paragraph (iii) and (iv), for “30 hours” there shall be substituted “16 hours”; iii in sub-paragraph (iv), “or both are” shall be omitted, and for the words from “week, and” to the end, there shall be substituted “week, and paragraph 5(1) above is satisfied in respect of that person.”, and iv after head (b) there shall be inserted the following – or c the claimant is, or, if he has a partner, one of them is, a person to whom regulation 18(3) of the Working Tax credit regulations (eligibility for 50 plus element) applies, or would apply if an application for working tax credit were to be made in his case. . 4 In Schedule 2, in the Second Schedule (which is to have effect as Schedule 4A to the Housing Benefit Regulations ), in paragraph 22 , for the words from “entitled” to “2002” there shall be substituted “a person who satisfies the conditions of sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph”. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 12th February 2004. John O'Neill Senior Officer of the Department for Social Development The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby consents to these Regulations. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 13th February 2004. Ciaran Doran Senior Officer of the Department of Finance and Personnel