Explanatory note

These Regulations make amendments to the Personal Community Charge (Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/421) (“the principal Regulations”).

The main change which the Regulations make is to regulation 13 of the principal Regulations which specifies the conditions for a person to be eligible for relief under Part III of the principal Regulations (relief where there are two or more personal community charge payers in a dwellinghouse). At present, one of the conditions is that the assumed personal community charge bill (“C”) must exceed the assumed rates bill (“R”) plus £156. This condition is amended so as to require twice the assumed personal community charge bill (ie 2C) to exceed the assumed rates bill plus £156. The effect of this change is to make it easier for a person to become eligible for relief under Part III where there are two or more persons in a dwellinghouse than in the case of relief under Part II where there is only a single person in the dwellinghouse.

Regulations 6 and 8 of these Regulations correct an omission in regulations 14(1)(a) and 15(1)(a) of the principal Regulations so that they refer to the actual personal community charge set or determined by the local authority.

The other amendments in regulations 7 and 9 are consequential upon the main change mentioned above.