The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2010

PART 1 General

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2010 and come into force on 14th January 2011.

(2) With the exception of regulation 9, these Regulations apply in relation to a notice which—

(a) relates to a year beginning on or after 1st April 2011, and

(b) is served by an English billing authority or such an authority’s authorised person.

(3) The 2009 Regulations have no effect in relation to a notice mentioned in paragraph (2).

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

“the 1999 Act” means the Greater London Authority Act 1999(1);

“the 2003 Regulations” means the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2003(2);

“the 2009 Regulations” means the Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2009(3);

“the Administration Regulations” means the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992(4);

“authorised person”, in relation to a billing authority, means a person authorised in accordance with the Local Authorities (Contracting Out of Tax Billing, Collection and Enforcement Functions) Order 1996(5) to exercise functions on the authority’s behalf in relation to the administration of council tax;

“budget requirement” means—

(a)

in relation to a billing authority, the amount calculated under section 32(4) of the Act (calculation of budget requirement),

(b)

in relation to major precepting authority other than the GLA, the amount calculated under section 43(4) of the Act (calculation of budget requirement),

(c)

in relation to the GLA, the amount calculated under section 85(8) of the 1999 Act (calculation of component and consolidated budgets),

(d)

in relation to a constituent body, the amount calculated for the body under section 85(6)(a) of the 1999 Act (calculation of component and consolidated budgets),

(e)

in relation to a local precepting authority, the amount calculated under section 50(4) of the Act (calculation of budget requirement);

“constituent body” has the same meaning as in section 85(3) of the 1999 Act(6) (calculation of component and consolidated budgets);

“GLA” means the Greater London Authority;

“Integrated Transport Authority” means—

(a)

an authority which is known as an Integrated Transport Authority by virtue of section 77(2) of the Local Transport Act 2008(7) (change of name of passenger transport areas and PTAs), or

(b)

an authority established under Part 5 of that Act (Integrated Transport Authorities etc.);

“levying body” means—

(a)

an Integrated Transport Authority,

(b)

the Broads Authority, and

(c)

the Environment Agency;

“notice” means a council tax demand notice within the meaning of Part 5 of the Administration Regulations (billing);

“preceding year”, in relation to a notice, means the year before the relevant year;

“relevant local precepting authority” means a relevant precepting authority which is a local precepting authority;

“relevant precepting authority”, in relation to a billing authority and a year, means a precepting authority which issues a precept to the billing authority for the year, but does not include—

(a)

the chairman of a parish meeting,

(b)

charter trustees,

(c)

the sub-treasurer of the Inner Temple or the under-treasurer of the Middle Temple unless the amount of the precept is more than £100,000,

(d)

a parish council unless the amount of the precept is equal to or more than £140,000; and

“relevant year”, in relation to a notice, means the year to which the demand for payment made by the notice relates.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) any reference to a precept includes a reference to a substitute precept,

(b) any reference to a levy includes a reference to a substitute levy, and

(c) any reference to a year is a reference to a financial year.

Definition of “gross expenditure”

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the gross expenditure of an authority for a year is the aggregate of the items which are—

(a) attributable to the services administered by the authority during the year, and

(b) charged to a revenue account for that year.

(2) The items mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) must be calculated using the estimates which were used to calculate—

(i) the budget requirement, or

(ii) the levy,

of the authority for the year; but

(b) must not include any—

(i) allowances for contingencies, or

(ii) contributions to financial reserves.

(3) The gross expenditure of the GLA for a year is the aggregate of the amounts of gross expenditure calculated for each constituent body for that year.

(4) In this regulation, “authority” includes a levying body and a constituent body.

PART 2 Content of demand notices and the supply of information

Content of demand notices

4.—(1) A notice must contain the matters specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.

(2) But a notice which is served on a person—

(a) after the end of the relevant year, and

(b) at the same time as a notice relating to another year not then ended,

is not required to contain the matters specified in paragraph 24 of Schedule 1.

Information supplied with demand notices

5.—(1) When a billing authority serves a notice on a person it must supply that person with the information specified in Part 2 of Schedule 2.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply when a notice is served after the end of the relevant year.

Invalid notices

6.—(1) If—

(a) as a consequence of a mistake a notice does not contain a matter specified in Schedule 1 (“the relevant matter”), but

(b) the amount required to be paid under the notice is demanded in accordance with Part 5 of the Administration Regulations (billing),

the requirement to pay that amount is valid.

(2) Where paragraph (1)(a) applies, as soon as practicable after the mistake is discovered the billing authority must serve a statement of the relevant matter on the person on whom the notice was served.

Supply of information by precepting authorities

7.—(1) When a relevant precepting authority issues a precept to a billing authority for a year—

(a) it must supply the information in paragraph (2) to the billing authority; and

(b) if it is a major precepting authority, it must also supply the information in paragraph (3).

(2) The information mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is—

(a) the authority’s gross expenditure for—

(i) the year, and

(ii) the year before that year;

(b) the authority’s budget requirement for—

(i) the year, and

(ii) the year before that year;

(c) the authority’s reasons for any difference between—

(i) the amounts mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a)(i) and (b)(i), and

(ii) the amounts mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a)(ii) and (b)(ii); and

(d) the authority’s opinion as mentioned in paragraph 6 of Schedule 2.

(3) The information mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) is—

(a) the amount (if any) taken into account under section 43(2)(a) of the Act (calculation of budget requirement) for any levy, and

(b) the name of each levying body which has issued a levy to the authority for the year.

(4) Paragraph (5) applies if a relevant local precepting authority issues a substitute precept to a billing authority.

(5) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the precepting authority, but if the billing authority makes substitute calculations under section 37 of the Act (substitute calculations) the billing authority may notify the precepting authority that it must supply the information mentioned in paragraph (2) to the billing authority.

(6) Where a relevant precepting authority—

(a) issues a substitute precept to a billing authority, or

(b) is notified by a billing authority under paragraph (5),

the authority is not required to supply to the billing authority any information which it has already supplied to that authority.

Supply of information by levying bodies

8.—(1) When a levying body issues a levy for a year it must supply the information in paragraph (2) to each relevant billing authority.

(2) The information is—

(a) the body’s gross expenditure for—

(i) the year, and

(ii) the year before that year;

(b) the amount of its levy—

(i) for the year, and

(ii) for the year before that year if a levy was issued; and

(c) the body’s reasons for any difference between—

(i) the amounts mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a)(i) and (b)(i), and

(ii) the amounts mentioned in sub-paragraph (a)(ii) and (b)(ii).

(3) Where a levying body issues a substitute levy, the body is not required to supply to a billing authority any information which it has already supplied to that authority.

(4) In this regulation, “relevant billing authority”, in relation to a levying body and a year, means—

(a) if the body issues a levy to a billing authority for the year, that authority; and

(b) if the body issues a levy to a major precepting authority for the year, any billing authority to which the precepting authority has power to issue a precept for that year.

Disapplication of certain requirements concerning efficiency information(8)

9.—(1) This regulation applies in relation to a notice which—

(a) relates to—

(i) the year beginning on 1st April 2009, or

(ii) the year beginning on 1st April 2010; and

(b) is served by an English billing authority or such an authority’s authorised person.

(2) A notice to which this regulation applies is not required to contain the relevant matters.

(3) When a billing authority serves such a notice on a person it is not required to supply that person with the relevant information.

(4) In this regulation—

“relevant information” means—

(a)

in the case of a notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a)(i), the information specified in paragraphs 7A and 7B of Part 1 (information to be supplied with council tax demand notices) of Schedule 3 to the 2003 Regulations, and

(b)

in the case of a notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a)(ii), the information specified in paragraph 8 (efficiency information) of Schedule 2 to the 2009 Regulations.

“relevant matters” means—

(a)

in the case of a notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a)(i), the matters specified in paragraphs 23A and 23B (information concerning efficiency) of Schedule 1 to the 2003 Regulations, and

(b)

in the case of a notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a)(ii), the matters specified in paragraph 23 (efficiency information) of Schedule 1 to the 2009 Regulations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Bob Neill

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Communities and Local Government

15th December 2010