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:

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.