Local Government and Housing Act 1989

143 Reduced liability for personal community charges: Scotland

—The following section shall be inserted after section 9 of the [1987 c. 47.] Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987—

“9A Reduced liability for personal community charge

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations as regards any case where—

(a) a person is or was liable to pay, in respect of any time in such financial year as is prescribed, the personal community charge determined by a local authority in respect of that year; and

(b) prescribed conditions are fulfilled.

(2) Regulations under this section may provide that the amount of a person’s liability in respect of personal community charge shall not be such amount as it would be apart from the regulations or, as the case may be, such amount as it was, but instead such smaller amount as is arrived at in accordance with prescribed rules.

(3) The conditions mentioned in subsection (1) above may be prescribed by reference to such factors as the Secretary of State sees fit; and in particular such factors may include all or any of the following—

(a) rates for a period before 1 April 1989;

(b) the circumstances of or other matters relating to the person concerned;

(c) an amount relating to the local authority concerned and specified, or to be specified, for the purposes of the regulations in a report laid, or to be laid, before the House of Commons;

(d) such other amounts as may be prescribed or arrived at in a prescribed manner;

(e) the making of an application by the person concerned.

(4) The rules mentioned in subsection (2) above may be prescribed by reference to such factors as the Secretary of State sees fit; and in particular such factors may include all or any of the factors mentioned in subsection (3)(a) to (d) above.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of section 31(2) of this Act, regulations under this section may include—

(a) provision requiring the Secretary of State to specify in a report, for the purposes of the regulations, an amount in relation to each local authority;

(b) provision requiring him to lay the report before the House of Commons;

(c) provision for the review of any prescribed decision of a local authority relating to the application or operation of the regulations.

(6) To the extent that he would not have power to do so apart from this subsection, the Secretary of State may—

(a) include in regulations under this section such amendments of any social security instrument as he thinks expedient in consequence of the regulations under this section;

(b) include in any social security instrument such provision as he thinks expedient in consequence of regulations under this section.

and any such amendments or provision may be deemed by the regulations or, as the case may be, instrument to have come into effect prior to the date of coming into force of the regulations or instrument.

(7) In subsection (6) above “social security instrument” means an order or regulations made, or falling to be made, by the Secretary of State under the Social Security Act 1986.”