Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Amendment Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/587)

3.1 The Committee draws the special attention of both Houses to this Order on the ground that it is defectively drafted in two connected respects.

3.2 Paragraphs (2) and (4) of article 2 of this Order, which came into force on 7 April 2008, amend respectively articles 4 and 13 of the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Amendment Order 2007. Those articles, which came into force on 20 March 2008, amend provisions of two other orders made in 1997.

3.3 In a memorandum printed at Appendix 3, the Department for Work and Pensions acknowledges that, since articles 4 and 13 of the 2007 Order had already come into force by the time this Order was made, the Order should have amended the 1997 Orders as amended rather than the 2007 Order. (In fact, this Order was made on 10 March, ten days before article 4 and 13 of the 2007 Order came into force, but the significant issue is that the amendments made by those provisions had taken effect before the amendments made by this Order came into force.) The Department further states that it will correct the error at the earliest possible opportunity. The Committee accordingly reports article 2(2) and (4) of this Order for defective drafting, acknowledged by the Department.