Explanatory note

Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) requires each billing authority in England to make a scheme specifying the reductions which are to apply to amounts of council tax payable by persons, or classes of person, whom the billing authority considers are in financial need. The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 (“the 2012 Regulations”) prescribe matters which must be included in such a scheme in addition to those matters which must be included in such a scheme by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 1A to the 1992 Act.

These Regulations amend the 2012 Regulations. The amendments made by regulations 3(a) and (b), 5(2)(f)(i) and (3) and 6(5) to (7) provide for the way in which child disability payments paid temporarily to a child or young person relocating from Scotland to England will be taken into account in assessing entitlement to a council tax reduction.

The amendments made by regulations 3(c) to (e), 5(2)(f)(ii) and (g) and 9 provide for the way in which payments under Part 1 of the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019, Part 4 of the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Act 2020 will be taken into account in assessing entitlement to a council tax reduction.

Regulation 12 of the 2012 Regulations provides that persons “treated as not being in Great Britain” are not eligible for a council tax reduction; that is, where he or she is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland. Regulation 4 of these Regulations amends regulation 12 of the 2012 Regulations. The amendments provide for exemption from the habitual residence test for persons granted leave in accordance with the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 (where such leave is granted by virtue of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy or the previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (otherwise known as the ex-gratia scheme)) or to whom leave is granted under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme. A further category of persons subject to the exemption is inserted, namely persons who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15th August 2021.

The figures in the 2012 Regulations which are uprated by regulations 5(2)(a) to (e), 6(2) to (4) and (8), 7 and 8 relate to non-dependant deductions (adjustments made to the maximum amount of reduction a person can receive to take account of adults living in the dwelling who are not dependants of the applicant); the applicable amount in relation to an applicant for a reduction (the amount against which an applicant’s income is compared in order to determine the amount of reduction to which he or she is entitled); the income bands in relation to which the amount of a person’s alternative maximum council tax reduction is calculated; and the amounts to be deducted from the calculation of the applicant’s income other than earnings.

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