Amendment of the Fines Regulations
3.—(1) The Fines Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.
(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation), in the definition of “payments to third parties”, after the words “Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (Scotland) Regulations 1989” there shall be added the words “and regulation 2 of the Council Tax (Deductions from Income Support) Regulations 1993”.
(3) For regulation 4 there shall be substituted the following regulation—
“Reference to adjudication officer
4.—(1) Where the Secretary of State receives an application from a court in respect of an offender he shall, subject to regulation 7(5), refer it forthwith to an adjudication officer who shall determine whether there is sufficient entitlement to income support to enable the Secretary of State to make any deduction.
(2) The adjudication officer shall determine there is sufficient entitlement to income support to enable the Secretary of State to make a deduction—
(a)if the amount payable by way of income support after any deduction to be made under regulation 6 is 10 pence or more; and
(b)if the aggregate amount payable under one or more of the following provisions, namely, paragraphs (3)(2)(a), 5(6), 6(2)(a), 7(3)(a) and 7(5)(a) of Schedule 9 to the Claims and Payments Regulations, paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 9A to the Claims and Payments Regulations and regulation 2 of the Council Tax (Deductions from Income Support) Regulations 1993, together with the amount to be deducted under regulation 6 does not exceed an amount equal to 3 times 5 per cent. of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25 years.
(3) The adjudication officer shall determine whether there is sufficient entitlement to income support to enable a deduction to be made, so far as is practicable, within 14 days of receipt of the reference from the Secretary of State”.
(4) In regulation 12(1)(a), for the words “by a party to the proceedings or their representative” there shall be substituted the words “by a party to the proceedings or the party’s representative”.
(5) In regulation 15(1), for the words “that party” there shall be substituted the words “that person”.