Local Government Act 1974

SCHEDULE 2 Elements of Rate Support Grants

PART I The Needs Element

1 Subject to paragraph 3 below, the amount of the needs element payable for any year to a local authority shall be the aggregate of—

(a) an amount arrived at by multiplying a prescribed sum by the population of the authority's area ; and

(b) additional amounts determined in such manner as may be prescribed and attributable to such additional factors as may be prescribed for that year.

2 For the purposes of paragraph 1 above the Secretary of State may by regulations provide for the method of determining, for any year,—

(a) the population of a local authority's area; and

(b) the application or operation of any additional prescribed factor in relation to a local authority.

3 (1) The needs element shall be subject to adjustment, in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph, in respect of expenditure to which this paragraph applies.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for ascertaining the aggregate of the expenditure to which this paragraph applies of all local authorities, for apportioning the aggregate among the authorities and for ascertaining the amount by which the needs element payable to each authority ought to be increased or decreased.

(3) The Secretary of State shall, in accordance with regulations made by him under this paragraph, ascertain at such time as may be specified by the regulations—

(a) the estimated amount of the increases and decreases of the needs element which ought to be made for any year, and

(b) the actual amount of those increases and decreases,

and he shall in paying the needs element for any year adjust the amount of that element in accordance with the estimated amounts so ascertained and shall in paying that element for the earliest practicable subsequent year make any adjustment necessary to offset differences between the estimated and actual amounts so ascertained.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) below, this paragraph applies to expenditure incurred—

(a) in establishing, maintaining or assisting colleges or other institutions for the training of teachers or in providing or assisting the provision of other facilities specified in directions under section 62 of the [1944 c. 31.] Education Act 1944;

(b) in making payments, in such cases as may be specified by regulations made by the Secretary of State under this paragraph, to or in respect of persons taking teachers' training or further training courses;

(c) in the provision, or in assisting the provision, of such facilities for further education of an advanced character as may be specified by or under regulations so made;

(d) in the making of provision for primary, secondary or further education of pupils not belonging to the area of any local education authority;

(e) in the training of persons to undertake educational research or to become educational psychologists, or in respect of persons who are being so trained.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide—

(a) that this paragraph shall apply to such expenditure as may be specified by the regulations which is incurred by local authorities—

(i) upon research into any of their functions, or

(ii) in the training of persons in matters connected with the functions of local authorities, or

(iii) in respect of persons to whom the training is given, or

(iv) in providing, for persons who suffer from any disability of mind or body, education by special methods appropriate for persons suffering from that disability, or

(v) in making payments to persons who cease to be employed as teachers in colleges for the training of teachers and become employed either by a local authority in a different capacity or as teachers in voluntary schools; or

(b) that any expenditure to which this paragraph applies shall cease to be such expenditure.

4 If, when the needs element for any year falls to be paid, it appears to the Secretary of State that the aggregate amount of that element will exceed or fall short of its aggregate amount as fixed by the relevant rate support grant order, the Secretary of State shall adjust the amount of that element payable to each local authority as nearly as may be in the proportion which the aggregate amount of the element as so fixed bears to the amount, as estimated by the Secretary of State, which would be the aggregate amount of that element for that year apart from this paragraph.

PART II The Domestic Element

5 (1) In each year an amount in the pound shall be prescribed for the purposes of section 48 of the [1967 c. 9.] General Rate Act 1967 (reduction of rates on dwellings by reference to domestic element) and different amounts in the pound may be so prescribed for different rating areas.

(2) In prescribing any amount or amounts in the pound under this paragraph for any year the Secretary of State shall seek to secure that the total amount of the reductions under section 48 of the General Rate Act 1967 for all rating areas will correspond to the aggregate amount of the domestic element prescribed for that year in pursuance of section 2(1) of this Act.

(3) In this paragraph " rating area" has the same meaning as in the General Rate Act 1967.

6 The amount of the domestic element payable to a local authority for any year shall be determined in such manner as may be provided by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

PART III The Resources Element

7 No payment in respect of the resources element shall be made to a local authority for any year unless in that year the rateable value per head of population of the authority's area is less than the national standard rateable value per head of population.

8 In relation to the resources element, the national standard rateable value per head of population shall be of such amount as may be prescribed.

9 (1) In relation to the resources element, the rateable value per head of population of the area of a local authority for any year shall be determined by—

(a) ascertaining the aggregate of die effective rateable values of all the hereditaments in the area of the authority, including any hereditament which, by virtue of any enactment, any body is to be treated as occupying in that area ; and

(b) dividing the aggregate figure so ascertained by the population of the authority's area, determined for that year in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above," effective rateable value ", in relation to any hereditament, means such value as may be determined in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State; and any such regulations may make different provision in relation to different types of hereditament.

10 (1) Subject to any provision made by virtue of section 4(5) of this Act and to paragraph 11 below, the amount of the resources element payable to a local authority for any year shall be an amount arrived at by multiplying the local deficiency in rateable value for that year by the amount in the pound which in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) below is determined as the uniform rate in that year for the authority's area.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above, " local deficiency in rateable value ", in relation to any authority for any year, means the product of—

(a) the amount by which, in that year, the national standard rateable value per head of population exceeds the rateable value per head of population of the authority's area ; and

(b) the population of the authority's area, determined for that year as mentioned in paragraph 9(1)(b) above.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above " the uniform rate " in any year for the area of a local authority means the amount in the pound determined by dividing—

(a) so much of the total estimated expenditure to be incurred by the authority during that year (as mentioned in section 2(1) of the [1967 c. 9.] General Rate Act 1967) as falls to be met by the authority out of the general rate for that year, by

(b) the aggregate of the effective rateable values of all the hereditaments in the area of the authority determined as for the purposes of paragraph 9(1) above.

11 (1) If, after the amount of the resources element payable to a local authority for any year has been determined under paragraph 10 above,—

(a) the rateable values of hereditaments in the authority's area are reduced with effect from a date on or before that which is relevant for determining the aggregate of the effective rateable values of all the hereditaments in the authority's area for that year under paragraph 9 above, and

(b) the effect of that reduction is to produce a reduction in the aggregate of the effective rateable values of all the hereditaments in the authority's area which is of such a magnitude that, expressed as a percentage of the initially ascertained aggregate figure, it exceeds such percentage as may be specified for the purposes of this paragraph in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and

(c) the authority by notice in writing request the Secretary of State to give a direction under this paragraph,

the Secretary of State shall direct that the amount of the resources element payable to the authority for that year shall be recalculated in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph and a further payment on account of that element shall be made to the local authority accordingly.

(2) Where sub-paragraph (1) above applies—

(a) the rateable value per head of population of the local authority's area for the year concerned shall be recalculated under paragraph 9 above by treating the initially ascertained aggregate figure as reduced by the amount of the excess referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(b) above ; and

(b) subject to any provision made by virtue of section 4(5) of this Act, paragraph 10 above shall have effect accordingly for the purpose of determining the amount which, on the basis of that recalculation, would have been payable to the authority for that year.

(3) The further payment referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above shall be an amount equal to the difference between the amount previously paid to the authority for the year concerned on account of the resources element and the amount determined as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)(b) above.

(4) In this paragraph " the initially ascertained aggregate figure ", in relation to any year, means the aggregate figure ascertained under paragraph 9(1)(a) above for the purposes of the first determination of the amount of the resources element payable to the authority in that year.

(5) The provisions of this paragraph shall have effect notwithstanding that the actual aggregate amount of the resources element for the year concerned may have been specified in an order under section 4(1) of this Act, and if any amount has been so specified it shall be treated as having been increased to such amount as may be necessary to provide for any further payment made to a local authority under this paragraph.