The Personal Community Charge (Reduction for 1991-92) (Scotland) Regulations 1991

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in Scotland for reducing, in certain circumstances, a person’s liability to pay the personal community charge for the financial year 1991-92.

The Secretary of State is required, for the purposes of these Regulations, to lay before Parliament a report specifying, in relation to each local authority, an assumed rate poundage for the financial year 1988-89 (regulation 6). These assumed figures are used for the purpose of identifying the persons who may be eligible for reduction and the aniount of the reduction under Parts II and III of the Regulations.

Part II

Part II of the Regulations is concerned with rates related reduction where there is only one person who is solely or mainly resident in a dwellinghouse on 1st April 1991 and who is liable for the personal community charge on that date. Regulation 7 specifies the conditions which require to be met for a person to be eligible for reduction under that Part (“eligible person”). One of the conditions is that—

(a) in the case where the dwellinghouse is situated in the area of an islands council, the actual personal community charge of that islands council for 1991-92 exceeds the “rates bill” plus £52; and

(b) in the case where the dwellinghouse is situated in the area of a regional council, the aggregate of the actual personal community charges for that regional council and the relevant district council for 1991-92 is greater than the aggregate of their “rates bills” plus £52.

The “rates bill” for this purpose is generally the rateable value of the dwellinghouse immediately before 1st April 1989 (with adjustments in certain cases) multiplied by the assumed rate poundage of the local authority concerned.

Regulations 8 and 9 make provision for the amount of reduction depending upon whether the dwellinghouse is situated in the area of an islands council or of a regional council. They provide, in brief, that what an eligible person is liable to pay in respect of the islands personal community charge or, as the case may be, the regional personal community charge for 1991-92 is to be calculated as if the actual personal community charge determined by that council had been reduced by the difference between the amounts referred to in (a) or, as the case may be, (b) above. These Regulations also make provision for the calculation of reduction where the granting of charitable relief led to a reduction or remission of rates in the financial year 1988-89.

Reduction is not available under Part II to a person who would be or would have been worse off because of the effect on his entitlement to community charge benefit under social security legislation (regulation 10), nor is it available to elderly persons or disabled persons if they are eligible under Part IV and would obtain a greater reduction under that Part than under Part II (regulation 7(4)).

Reduction ceases when the eligible person is no longer solely or mainly resident in the dwellinghouse, except in certain cases (regulation 11).

Special provision is made in respect of the effect of local government boundary changes (regulation 12).

Part III

Part III of the Regulations provides for rates related reduction where there are two or more persons solely or mainly resident in a dwellinghouse on 1st April 1991 who are liable for the personal community charge on that date. Regulation 13 specifies the conditions which require to be met for a person to be eligible for reduction under that Part (“eligible person”).

The main difference between reduction under Part II and reduction under Part III is that the total amount of reduction is calculated under Part III by reference to the actual personal community charge and the number of persons who are solely or mainly resident in the dwellinghouse on 1st April 1991 and are liable to pay the personal community charge on that date. Regulations 14 and 15 make similar provision to regulations 8 and 9 in respect of cases where rates were previously reduced by the granting of charitable relief.

The same exceptions and limitations apply as in the case of relief under Part II (regulations 16 to 18).

Part IV

Part IV of the Regulations provides for reduction for the elderly and disabled of the regional and district personal community charges in respect of the finanicial year 1991-92. The persons eligible for reduction are defined in regulation 19. Reduction is only available under Part IV on application. An applicant or his executors must declare that he was not a ratepayer in 1988-89 or did not pay rent in a case where the landlord had responsibility for rates and that he was not the spouse of a former ratepayer or rent payer.

Regulations 20 and 21 provide that what an eligible person is liable to pay in respect of the regional personal community charge and district personal community charge for 1991-92 is to be calculated as if—

(a) the personal community charge determined by the regional council had been £49, and

(b) the personal community charge determined by the district council had been £3.

There are similar restrictions and limitations as in the case of reduction under Parts II and III.

Part V

Part V of the Regulations contains supplementary provisions. They enable a levying authority to request information (regulation 25) and require it, when making a decision relating to the application or operation of the Regulations, to give reasons for its decision if so requested (regulation 27). The Regulations make provision for the review of such decisions by a Review Board appointed under the Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/1321) (regulation 28).