7.—(1) No payment of grant shall be made except in response to an application in writing from an authority to the Secretary of State, authenticated by the officer of the authority responsible for the administration of their financial affairs or his deputy.
(2) Application for the payment of grant shall relate to expenditure over one or more quarters and shall specify the approved expenditure in respect of which grant is applied for which it is estimated has been or will be incurred by the authority during each quarter.
(3) Where an application relating to approved expenditure which it is estimated has been or will be incurred during the quarter commencing on 1st January in any year is submitted on or before 15th March in that year a payment equal to half the grant applied for in respect of that expenditure may be made forthwith but no further payment of grant shall be made in respect of that expenditure until an application has been submitted in accordance with paragraph (4)(a).
(4) Each authority that have received or seek to receive a payment of grant in respect of expenditure incurred during the year ending on 31st March shall, during the quarter commencing on 1st April or as soon as practicable thereafter—
(a)submit to the Secretary of State an application which shall specify the approved expenditure in respect of which grant has been or is being applied for and which has been incurred by the authority during that year; and
(b)secure the submission to the Secretary of State of an unqualified certificate, signed by the auditor appointed by the Audit Commission to audit the accounts of the authority or any auditor qualified for such appointment by virtue of section 13(5) and (6) of the Local Government Finance Act 1982(1), certifying that in his opinion the particulars stated in the application submitted by the authority pursuant to this paragraph are fairly stated and that grant applied for is properly payable pursuant to these Regulations.
(5) No payment of grant shall be made in respect of expenditure by an authority incurred in the quarter beginning on 1st October in any year or any subsequent quarter, if grant was paid to the authority in respect of expenditure in the year ending on the preceding 31st March but the Secretary of State has not received the auditor’s certificate referred to in paragraph (4) for that year.
(6) Any under-payment or over-payment of grant which remains outstanding following receipt of the auditor’s certificate referred to in paragraph (4) shall, without prejudice to the recovery of any over-payment from any subsequent payment of grant to the authority, be adjusted by payment between the authority and the Secretary of State.
(7) In this regulation, a “quarter” means a period of three calendar months commencing on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st October in any year.