News Headlines (April 2025)
April 2025 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2024 have been included.
Tax Credits have now been excluded from the calculator.
April 2024 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2024 have been included.
April 2023 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2023 have been included.
April 2022 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2022 have been included.
April 2021 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2021 have been included.
From this version the auto-updating procedure has been upgraded for security purposes.
February 2019 changes
The age at which a person may claim the higher rate of personal allowances has been adjusted from
65 to when the person can claim Pension Credit as this is now later than the person's 65th birthday.
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2020 have been included.
November 2017 changes
The question on "number of non-dependants" has now been changed to
"Are there any non-dependants..."
There has been a small number of help changes for students
A facility for copying the output of the capital calculation on the Capital Reckoner onto the clipboard has been provided. This is to enable direct pasting into the text box for the Renovator capital question.
June 2017 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2017 have been included.
June 2016 changes
Benefit rates that came into force in April 2016 have been included.
This release changes the text of the question on Tax Credits income.
As Tax Credit income is ignored it is not necessary to know the exact amount,
so, to avoid any confusion, it is only necessary to enter whether or not
an award is in receipt.
June 2015 changes
This release also incorporates a small change to the way in which
Renovator applies earned income disregards. Renovator now seeks to award a £20
earned income disregard in that (very small) number of cases where a customer
and/or their partner would meet the qualifying conditions for the
disability premium, are over 60 but are under the qualifying age for pension
credit.
August May 2014 changes
Changes in this release are mainly to the help screens and question text.
The help includes details of the benefit rates that came into force in April 2014.
Current rates of Child Benefit are used to provide the default amount in
receipt of that benefit.
August 2013 changes
Changes in this release arise from various regulations that have come
into force since April 2013. The main changes are as follows:
Passporting Benefits
Council Tax Benefit (which was abolished on 1st April 2013) has been
removed from the list of "passporting benefits" and replaced by a
reference to reductions in Council Tax under the successor Council Tax
Reduction scheme, which is also a "passport".
Universal Credit has been added to the list of "passporting
benefits". This will progressively replace benefits and tax credits for
those of working age.
Personal Independence Payment
Provision has been made for Personal Independence Payment. This benefit,
which will over time replace Disability Living Allowance for those of
working age, functions similarly in terms of conferring entitlement to
premiums.
March 2010 changes
Changes in this release arise from The Housing Renewal Grants
(Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2010 [S.I. 2010 No. 297 (W.39)] and
take effect for applications dated on or after 4th March
2010.
The main changes are as follows:
Young Persons
Nineteen year-old children (young persons), for whom Child
Benefit is payable, are now treated as dependants for the
purposes of the DFG means-test.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Receipt of the income-based form of this benefit (introduced
in October 2008) now passports to a maximum grant (subject to the grant
limit) in the same way as does receipt of income-based Jobseekers
Allowance.
Like JSA, ESA also has a contribution-based form which does
not have this passporting effect.
Some background information is available on income-
based and contribution-based ESA.
May 2009 changes
For DFG applications dated on or after 20th May 2009,
income from the tax credits (Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit)
is disregarded in full.
The existing provision, for 'passporting' recipients of tax credits
whose assessed income is less than a prescribed
amount, continues in force so this change affects only those
households with assessed income at or above that limit.
Renovator continues to ask about tax credit income,
because if some is in receipt then the presence of a 30+
hours element, or an adult disability element, will affect the DFG
means-test. The specific amount entered as tax credit income is not
significant, however.
Disregard of some war pensions and related payments
Certain payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and the War
Pensions Scheme are disregarded for DFG applications dated on or after
31st December 2008. These have been added to the help
covering income that is ignored.
Also from that date, some lump-sum payments made under the Armed
Forces Compensation Scheme are disregarded as
capital.
October 2008 changes
Rates, allowances and premiums have been updated in line with those
current in Housing Benefit, though there remain various differences
between the two schemes.
The grant limit applicable to Disabled-Facility Grants in Wales has
been increased to £36,000 with effect from 2nd October
2008.
Bands are unchanged, but multipliers have been reduced slightly (by
about 2.7% for owners, 1.5% for tenants).
There is an expanded range of benefits and tax
credits (with an income limit), receipt of which 'passports' the
applicant.
March 2006 changes
The 'thirty-hour disregard' is applied in the case of a couple where at
least one is working 16 or more hours/week and at least one (not
necessarily the same one) attracts a disability premium. Note that this
criterion differs from that applied in Housing Benefit.
The program always asks about earnings from special occupations, and
childminding – whether or not the Client work hours are non-zero.
Net earnings from these sources of either the Client, or the Partner if
any, may be entered.
The baby-under-one additional allowance is £10.45 in households
below pension age (60 years) and £10.50 in those of pension age.
This discrepancy arises because the former figure has not been updated.
Various help amendments have been made, including some guidance on
deriving weekly amounts of income.
January 2006 changes
DFGs for disabled children in England
Disabled-facility grants for a child or young person are no longer
subject to a means test in England. The program will display an
informative alert in this situation, reminding that 100% grant (subject
to the grant limit) is payable. The same provision was made for Wales in
October 2005.
Changes to the DFG means-test in England
Bands are unchanged, but multipliers have changed. The means-test for
disabled-facility grants has been brought into line with that currently
applicable in Housing Benefit, with a few minor exceptions. In
particular:
- Revised rates of personal allowances and premiums take effect. The
higher earnings disregard has been increased from £15 to £20.
The maximum child care disregards are now £175 (one qualifying
child) and £300 (two or more).
- There is no longer a distinction between children with less, or
more, than £6000 capital. Both capital and income of dependent
children and young persons is now ignored.
- None of the former pensioner premiums are applicable; higher rates
of personal allowances now apply to households where an adult is aged
sixty or more.
- The criteria for awarding the additional 'thirty-hour' earnings
disregard (now worth £14.50) are the same as in Housing Benefit. As
a result the program may now ask an additional question regarding recent
return to work where the Client or Partner is aged 50 or more.
Civil partnerships
The program now has an additional option (Civil partners)
in response to the question about Client marital status. Pick this
option where the Client has a civil partner and the couple are living
together.
This option may also be used where a same-sex couple are living together as if they were civil partners,
as there is no difference – in the renovation grant or benefits
systems – between actual civil partners and those treated as such.
Auto-updating
This release incorporates support for auto-updating of
Renovator. Instead of having to wait for physical media to
be duplicated, posted and delivered the program can itself check that it
is up-to-date. If it is not, it can then receive directly the most
recent update via a broadband link to the Ferret web site.
A further advantage of auto-updating is that minor or cosmetic
changes to the program or help – which do not warrant a major
update – can be distributed easily and so more frequently.
Auto-updating needs to be activated at a site that uses
Renovator; the procedure is straightforward, however, and
further information is available on how to do
so.
October 2005 changes
DFGs for disabled children in Wales
In Wales, disabled-facility grants for a child or young person are no
longer subject to a means-test. The program will display an informative
alert in this situation, reminding that 100% grant (subject to the
grant limit) is payable.
February 2004 changes
Revised rates of personal allowances and premiums take effect; Bands
and multipliers are unchanged.
Renovator now asks about the ages of the Client and
Partner (if any), rather than asking for the age of the elder. This
extra information is required to apply the 30+ work hours disregard.
An additional question asks about a Tax Credit (Working Tax Credit
and/or Child Tax Credit) award in receipt.
Where some Tax Credit is in receipt, the program proceeds to ask
about the inclusion of the 30+ hour and adult
disability elements in the Tax Credit award.
Where a Tax Credit is in receipt and eligible childcare costs exceed
earnings, the disregard of childcare costs is applied to the aggregate
of net earnings and the CTC/WTC in payment.
Renovator now asks about the presence in a household of
a baby aged less than one year, as a higher rate of Family Premium is
applicable in this situation.
With the introduction of Pension Credits, receipt of Guarantee
Pension Credit passports the household in the same way as receipt
of Income Support or Income-based JSA. This does not apply
where Savings Pension Credit only is in receipt, however.
Renovator now defaults to a 'Disabled facility' grant
type when a new case is entered.
What used to be known as Invalid Care Allowance is
now called Carer's Allowance.