[2023] UKUT 193 (AAC)

who are deaf and in respect of certain specified payments have been awarded from public funds.

It is not in dispute that the claimant falls within the exception in regulation 56(2)(b) as the “lone parent” of his brother and sister. (Footnote: ³) In principle, therefore, he was entitled to housing benefit as long as he satisfied the other conditions of entitlement including, in particular, the means test.

I will not lengthen this decision with a description of the detailed rules for the housing benefit means test, or of how the figures derived from that test affect the calculation of entitlement to housing benefit. It is enough to say that, if a claimant has income above a certain level, his entitlement to housing benefit begins to reduce and that, if the income is high enough, entitlement will reduce to nil. (Footnote: ⁴)

It is, however, necessary to say that section 136(5)(a) of the Act gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations with the effect that, in specified circumstances:

“a person is treated as possessing … income which he does not possess”,

and that the Secretary of State has used that power to make (among others) regulation 64 of the Regulations.

So far as is relevant to the main issue in this appeal—and during the period with which I am concerned—regulation 64 was in the following terms:

“Treatment of student loans…

64.

—(1) A student loan … shall be treated as income.

(2)

…

(3)

A student shall be treated as possessing a student loan … in respect of an academic year where—

(a)

a student loan … has been made to him in respect of that year; or

(b)

he could acquire a student loan … in respect of that year by taking reasonable steps to do so.

(4)

Where a student is treated as possessing a student loan under paragraph (3), the amount of the student loan to be taken into account as income shall be, subject to paragraph (5)—

(a)…

(b)

in the case of a student to whom a student loan is not made in respect of an academic year, the maximum student loan that would be made to the student if—

(i)

he took all reasonable steps to obtain the maximum student loan he is able to acquire in respect of that year; and

(ii)

no deduction in that loan was made by virtue of the application of a means test”

The Regulations consolidated the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 ("the Former Regulations") with effect from 6 March 2006. Until 31 July 1999, the relevant parts of regulation 57A of the Former Regulations read as follows:

“Treatment of student loans

57A.(1) A loan which is made to a student pursuant to arrangements made under section 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990[ or Article 3 of the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990]2 shall be treated as income.

(2)

…

(3)

Any loan for which a student is eligible in respect of an academic year under the arrangements mentioned in paragraph (1) but which has not been acquired by him shall be treated as possessed by him and paragraphs (1) … shall apply accordingly; and for the purposes of this paragraph the loan for which a student is eligible is the maximum amount payable to him under those arrangements.”

With effect from 1 August 1999, that regulation was amended by regulation 5(6) of the Social Security Amendment (Students) Regulations 1999 so that its provisions were the same as the current regulation 64.