Amendments to Schedule 1 to the 1992 Regulations.
3.—(1) Schedule 1 to the 1992 Regulations (rules for the calculation of non-domestic rating contributions) shall be amended in relation to financial years beginning on or after 1st April 1995 in accordance with the following paragraphs.
(2) In paragraph 1(4), for “1994” there shall be substituted “1995”.
(3) In paragraph 4(1)—
(a)for the formula there shall be substituted the following—
(b)in the definition of “K” for “78 per cent.” there shall be substituted “76 per cent.”;
(c)in the definition of “N” for “22 per cent.” there shall be substituted “24 per cent.”;
(d)at the end there shall be added the following—
“O is the total amount of the legal costs of the authority referred to in paragraph (5) below.”.
(4) In paragraph 4(4), for “1994 is £69.5 million” there shall be substituted “1995 is £74,913,000”.
(5) At the end of paragraph 4 there shall be inserted the following—
“(5) The legal costs referred to in this paragraph are the reasonable costs of another party to proceedings brought or defended by the authority where the following conditions are satisfied:
(a)the proceedings in question were begun on or after 1st November 1993;
(b)the authority notified the Secretary of State of its intention to bring or defend proceedings before it did so or, in the case of proceedings begun after 1st November 1993 and before 4th July 1994, before 1st October 1994;
(c)the proceedings were brought or defended by the authority to clarify the law as respects liability for, or the authority’s powers to enforce, non-domestic rates;
(d)the authority supplied the Secretary of State with advice in writing by counsel —
(i)that the point of law concerned had not already been determined in previous proceedings;
(ii)that a decision by the authority to bring or defend the proceedings, or to continue to do so, would be a reasonable decision;
(e)the action was unsuccessful on that point of law and costs were awarded against the authority, or the authority withdrew from the proceedings as respects that point on the advice of counsel and payment by the authority of the other party’s reasonable costs was made by that party a condition of consenting to withdrawal;
(f)the authority before 15th November in the immediately preceding financial year notified the Secretary of State of the outcome of the proceedings and of the amount of the costs;
(g)the costs have been met by the authority; and
(h)the costs have not been taken into account in a calculation for a preceding year.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5) above —
(a)references to proceedings are to proceedings in a court of law including the Lands Tribunal;
(b)any appeal from a decision of a court or the Lands Tribunal shall be regarded as separate proceedings.”.
(6) For the Table in Part II of the Schedule there shall be substituted the following Table—
“COST FACTORS
| Name or description of authority | Cost factor |
|---|---|
| The Councils of the districts of Broxbourne, Dartford, Elmbridge, Epping Forest, Epsom and Ewell, Hertsmere, Reigate and Banstead, Slough, South Bucks, Spelthorne, Three Rivers and Watford | 1.1646 |
| The Councils of the districts of Basildon, Bracknell Forest, Brentwood, Chiltern, Crawley, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Guildford, Harlow, Mole Valley, Runnymede, St. Albans, Sevenoaks, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Thurrock, Waverley, Welwyn Hatfield, Windsor and Maidenhead and Woking | 1.1260 |
| The Council of a district other than a district named above which falls within the county of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire or West Sussex | 1.0599 |
| The Council of a district other than a district named above or a district falling within the description given above | 1 |
| The Council of an inner London Borough | 1.2538 |
| The Council of an outer London Borough | 1.1277 |
| The Common Council of the City of London | 1.6802 |
| The Council of the Isles of Scilly | 1”. |