The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/3038) (“the 2011 Regulations”). The 2011 Regulations make provision about matters to be contained in, and information to be supplied with, council tax demand notices. The purpose of the amendments is to provide for additional information about expenditure on adult social care functions to be presented in or with notices for the financial year beginning in 2016.

Regulation 2(2) inserts definitions into the 2011 Regulations. The “adult social care precept” relates to the amount by which an authority raises its council tax for the financial year beginning in 2016 in order to fund adult social care functions. Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 8 of the 2011 Regulations to require a county council in an area for which there are district councils to provide billing authorities with information about the amount of its precept attributable to proposed expenditure on adult social care in the financial year beginning in 2016.

Regulation 2(4) amends Schedule 1 to the 2011 Regulations to make amendments to the information which billing authorities must include on the notice that goes to a council tax payer stating how much council tax he or she is required to pay (“a demand notice”).

Regulation 2(5) amends Schedule 2 to the 2011 Regulations to require a billing authority to include an explanatory statement in the information to be supplied with a demand notice. The statement explains the background to the adult social care precept.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. The impact on the public sector is minimal.