This chapter covers the general rules on claims and backdating. See the chapter about the benefit you are claiming for the specific rules about that benefit. This chapter does not cover the rules for tax credits (see Chapter 64), the Scottish benefits (see Chapter 79), statutory sick pay (see Chapter 39), statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay (see Chapter 38), social fund budgeting loans (see here), health benefits (see Chapter 31), the other payments in Chapter 40 or discretionary housing payments (see Chapter 29). Generally, the rules for housing benefit (HB) are not covered (see Chapter 10), although the national insurance number requirement described in this chapter also applies to HB.