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The Local Government (Rates Support Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

Draft. This instrument was laid in draft and may differ from the one made. Look for the made version under its title.

Draft 2011, ISBN 9780337985379

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

Draft Regulations laid before the Assembly under section 27(9) of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 for approval

Local Government

Made ***

Coming into operation 1st November 2011

The Department of the Environment makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 27 of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011f1.

In accordance with section 44(1) of that Act, the Department has consulted councils, such associations representative of councils, such associations representative of officers of councils and such other persons or bodies as appear to the Department to be appropriate.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2011 c.10 (NI)

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Rates support grant
  4. 4Rates support grant
  5. 5Amendments to the Rates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007
  6. 6Revocations, transitional and saving provisions
  7. Signature
  8. Schedule 1
  9. Part I: Rates support grant formula
  10. 1Paragraph 1
  11. 2Paragraph 2
  12. 3Paragraph 3
  13. Part II: Measures applied to adjust for additional needs
  14. 4Paragraph 4
  15. 5Paragraph 5
  16. 6Extent of adjustment
  17. 7Population Adjustment Methodology
  18. 8Population Adjustment Methodology
  19. Schedule 2REGULATIONS REVOKED
  20. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government (Rates Support Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 and shall come into operation on 1st November 2011.

2Interpretation

(1)

In these Regulations—

  • “employment deprivation scores” means the Employment Deprivation Domain scores contained in the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2010, published by the Department of Finance and Personnelf1;

  • “expenditure” means net expenditure (excluding depreciation and bank interest) averaged over the latest three financial years, provided by councils;

  • “gross penny rate product” means the income that may be raised from one penny of district rates on rateable and derated properties, as determined by the Department on the basis of data provided by the Department of Finance and Personnel;

  • “income deprivation scores” means the Income Deprivation Domain scores contained in the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2010, published by the Department of Finance and Personnel;

  • “population” means the population determined by the Department of Finance and Personnel on the basis of mid-year home population estimates for local government districts, and provided by the Department of Finance and Personnel to the Department;

  • “population density” means the mid-year home population estimates per kilometre squared, provided by the Department of Finance and Personnel;

  • “private household data” means the number of households within each local government district provided by either the Department of Finance and Personnel or the Northern Ireland Housing Executive;

  • “tourist bed-nights” means the number of tourists staying in Northern Ireland overnight but excluding Northern Ireland residents, provided by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board; and

  • “travel to work data” means employment statistics, based on census of employment and labour force surveys, provided by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

(2)

With the exception of the definitions set out in paragraph (1), expressions used in these Regulations shall have the same meaning as in the Best Value Accounting Code of Practice: 2010/2011f2 published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

3Rates support grant

For the financial year beginning on 1st April 2012 and each successive year the Department shall determine the amount of rates support grant payable to a council in accordance with the formula described in Schedule 1.

4Rates support grant

The Department shall use data, in the formula and measures applied to population to calculate the additional needs of a council, based on the latest information available to the Department regarding the financial year ending on 31st March 2011 and on 31st March in each successive year.

5Amendments to the Rates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

(1)

The Rates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007f1 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2)

In regulation 3(1) (payments to district councils on account of district rates) for “section 53(2)(e) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972” substitute “under section 3(2)(e) of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011”.

(3)

In regulation 6(1) (the resources element of the General Grant) for “under the Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 the amount of the resources element of the General Grant” substitute “under the Local Government (Rates Support Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 the amount of the rates support grant”.

(4)

In regulation 6(2)(a) for “the derating element of the General Grant” substitute “the de-rating grant”.

6Revocations, transitional and saving provisions

(1)

Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), the Regulations specified in Schedule 2 are revoked.

(2)

For the purposes of calculating the amount of rates support grant for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2012, anything done under provision of the Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003f1 before the coming into operation of these Regulations has effect as if done under the corresponding provision of these Regulations.

(3)

The Regulations set out in Schedule 2 shall continue to apply in respect of the resources element of the general grant for the financial year ending on 31st March 2012.

(4)

Subject to any specific transitional provision, anything done under, or for the purposes of the Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 before the coming into operation of these Regulations shall continue to have effect as if done under or for the purposes of the corresponding provision of these Regulations.

Signature

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on *** 2011

Elizabeth Loughran

A senior officer of the Department of the Environment

1

For the purposes of this Schedule—

(a)

a council’s wealth means its share of the Northern Ireland gross penny product, as calculated in accordance with this Schedule;

(b)

a council’s needs means its share of the Northern Ireland adjusted population (including the additional needs of a council) as calculated in accordance with this Schedule.

2

The formula to determine a council’s entitlement to rates support grant shall be—

WealthNeeds
{ Council gross penny rate product  Northern Ireland gross penny rate product  ×100 }−{ Council home population adjusted  Northern Ireland home population adjusted ×100 }=Surplus or negative variance

3

To calculate the proportion of rates support grant payable to a council, the total of negative variances shall be calculated and each council’s negative variance (if any) expressed as a percentage of the total.

Council's negative variance  Total of councils' negative variances  ×100 =Percentage allocation of total grant

4

Measures applied to adjust for additional needs are—

(a)

deprivation;

(b)

an influx of additional population; and

(c)

sparsity.

5

Measures, weighted in accordance with paragraph 7, to the extent specified in paragraph 6(1), which shall be applied to population data, to adjust for—

(a)

deprivation, are—

(i)

income deprivation scores; and

(ii)

employment deprivation scores;

(b)

an influx of additional population, are—

(i)

tourist bed-nights; and

(ii)

travel to work data;

(c)

sparsity, are—

(i)

population density; and

(ii)

private household data.

6Extent of adjustment

(1)

For the purposes of paragraph 4, the extent of adjustment made to the population of a local government district shall be in the same proportion as the total Northern Ireland expenditure on each key service relative to specified needs is to the total Northern Ireland expenditure.

(2)

The key services to which sub-paragraph (1) relates are—

(a)

community services;

(b)

economic development;

(c)

waste collection;

(d)

other cleaning; and

(e)

tourism.

7Population Adjustment Methodology

The Department shall adjust population to address—

(a)

deprivation in a local government district, by taking the following steps—

(i)

application of the employment scores with a 50 percent weighting and income scores with a 50 percent weighting, making an adjustment of the proportion that community services expenditure is to total expenditure;

(ii)

application of the employment scores with a 100 percent weighting, making an adjustment for each of the proportion that economic development expenditure is to total expenditure;

(iii)

application of the income scores with a 50 percent weighting, making an adjustment of the proportion that tourism expenditure is to total expenditure;

(b)

an influx of additional population into a local government district, by taking the following steps—

(i)

application of tourist bed-nights factors with a 50 percent weighting, making an adjustment of the proportion that tourism expenditure is to total expenditure;

(ii)

application of tourist bed-nights factors with a 50 percent weighting and travel to work factors with a 50 percent weighting, making an adjustment of the proportion that other cleaning expenditure is to total expenditure; and

(c)

sparsity in a local government district, by taking the following step—

application of mid-year population density data with a 25 percent weighting and private household data with a 75 percent weighting, making an adjustment of the proportion that waste collection expenditure is to total expenditure.

8Population Adjustment Methodology

The total adjustment which the Department shall make to the home population of a local government district shall be the sum of the results, which may be positive or negative, of the adjustments made in accordance with paragraphs 7(a), 7(b) and 7(c).

Schedule 2REGULATIONS REVOKED

  • The Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003f1

  • The Local Government (General Grant) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005f2

  • The Local Government (General Grant) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006f3

  • The Local Government (General Grant) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007f4

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the formula for determining the rates support grant payable by the Department of the Environment to district councils under section 27 of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c 10).

These Regulations enable the Department of the Environment (“the Department”) to determine the amount of rates support grant payable to councils.

Regulation 3 provides that the Department shall calculate the amount of the rates support grant in accordance with the statutory formula described in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.

Regulation 4 requires the Department to use data in the formula based on the latest information available to it regarding the previous financial year.

Regulation 5 makes consequential amendments to the Rates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007.

Regulation 6 revokes the Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, with a transitional provision for the calculation of the rates support grant for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2012 and a saving provision with regard to the resources element of the general grant for the financial year ending on 31st March 2012.

Copies of the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2010 referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, McAuley House, 2-14 Castle Street, Belfast, BT1 1SA (www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk).

Copies of the Best Value Accounting Code of Practice: 2010/11 referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, 3 Robert Street, London, WC2N 6RL (www.cipfa.org.uk).