Explanatory note

These Regulations make provision, in Scotland, for reducing, in certain circumstances, a person’s liability to pay the personal community charge for the financial years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92.

The Secretary of State is required, for the purposes of these Regulations, to lay before Parliament a report specifying, in relation to each local authority an assumed rate poundage for the financial year 1988-89 and an assumed personal community charge for the financial year 1989-90 (regulation 5). These assumed figures are used for the purpose of identifying the persons who may be eligible for relief and the amount of the relief under Parts II to IV of the Regulations.

These Regulations apply to any person who meets the conditions for being an eligible person under Part II, III or IV of the Regulations, even although that person may have died before the coming into force of the Regulations (regulation 6(1)).

Part II of the Regulations is concerned with rates related relief where there is only one person who was solely or mainly resident in a dwellinghouse on 1st April 1989 and who was liable for the personal community charge on that date. Regulation 7 specifies the conditions which require to be met for a person to be eligible for relief under that Part (“eligible person”). One of the conditions is that–

The “rates bill” for this purpose is generally the rateable value of the dwellinghouse immediately before 1st April 1989 (with adjustments in certain cases) multiplied by the assumed rate poundage of the local authority concerned.

Regulations 8 and 9 make provision for the amount of relief depending upon whether the dwellinghouse is situated in the area of an islands council or of a regional council. They provide, in brief, that what an eligible person is or was liable to pay in respect of the islands personal community charge or, as the case may be, the regional personal community charge for 1989-90 is to be calculated as if the actual personal community charge determined by that council had been reduced by the difference between the amounts referred to in (a) or, as the case may be, (b) above. The relief for 1990-91 and 1991-92 is calculated in a similar manner except that it is reduced by £13 per year.

Relief is not available under Part II to a person who would be or would have been worse off because of the effect on his entitlement to community charge rebate or benefit under social security legislation (regulation 10), nor is it available to elderly persons or disabled persons if they are eligible for the higher relief provided by Part IV of the Regulations (regulation 7(4)).

Relief ceases when the eligible person dies or is no longer solely or mainly resident in the dwellinghouse, except in certain cases (regulation 11).

Special provision is made as respects the effect of local government boundary changes (regulation 12).

Part III of the Regulations provide for rates related relief where there were two or more persons solely or mainly resident in a dwellinghouse on 1st April 1989 who were liable for the personal community charge on that date. Regulation 13 specifies the conditions which require to be met for a person to be eligible for relief under that Part (“eligible person”).

The main difference between relief under Part II and relief under Part III is that the total amount of relief is calculated under Part III by reference to twice the assumed (or, if lower, the actual) personal community charge, and the resulting amount divided by the number of persons who were solely or mainly resident in the dwellinghouse on 1st April 1989 and were liable to pay the personal community charge on that date. The amount of relief available in the case of any eligible person is the resulting share (regulations 14 and 15).

The same exceptions and limitations apply as in the case of relief under Part II (regulations 16 to 18).

Part IV of the Regulations provides for relief for the elderly and disabled. The persons eligible for relief are defined in regulation 19. Relief is only available under Part IV on application. An applicant or his executors must declare that he was not a ratepayer in 1988-89 or did not pay rent in a case where the landlord had responsibility for rates and that he was not the spouse of a former ratepayer or rent payer.

Regulations 20 and 21 make provision for the amount of relief depending upon whether the dwellinghouse in which the eligible person was solely or mainly resident is in the area of an islands council or a regional council. In brief, what an eligible person is or was liable to pay in respect of the islands personal community charge or, as the case may be, the regional personal community charge, for 1989-90 is to be calculated as if

The amount of the relief for 1990-91 and 1991-92 is calculated in a similar manner but it is reduced by £13 per year. There are similar restrictions and limitations as in the case of relief under Part II and III.

Part V of the Regulations contains supplementary provisions. They enable a levying auth ority to request information (regulation 25) and require it, when making a decision relating to the application or operation of the Regulations, to give reasons for its decision if so requested (regulation 27). The Regulations also make provision for the review of such decisions by a Review Board appointed under the Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/1321) (regulation 28).