BAILII is celebrating 24 years of free online access to the law! Would you consider making a contribution?

No donation is too small. If every visitor before 31 December gives just £1, it will have a significant impact on BAILII's ability to continue providing free access to the law.
Thank you very much for your support!



BAILII [Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]

United Kingdom Statutory Instruments


You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Statutory Instruments >> The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_reg/2003/20033012.html

[New search] [Help]



2003 No. 3012

COUNCIL TAX, ENGLAND

The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

  Made 24th November 2003 
  Laid before Parliament 27th November 2003 
  Coming into force 19th December 2003 

The First Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 33(5) and (6), 34(4), 44(5) and (6), 45(4) and (5), 48(5) and (6) and 116 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 [1] and sections 88(6) and (7) and 89(7) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 [2] hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
     1.  - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 19th December 2003.

    (2) These Regulations apply in relation to authorities in England only [
3].

    (3) In these Regulations "the principal Regulations" means the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 [4].

Interpretation of the principal Regulations
     2. In regulation 1(3) of the principal Regulations, at the end add the following definition  - 

Calculation of the relevant amounts for a financial year beginning on or after 1 April 2004
     3. Before regulation 5A[6] of the principal Regulations, insert the following regulation - 

Band A dwellings: reductions for disability
     4. In regulation 5A(1) of the principal Regulations, for "3 and 5" substitute "3, 5 and 5AA".

Calculation of billing authority's council tax base for a part of its area
    
5. Regulation 6(2) of the principal Regulations is amended as follows - 

Calculation of council tax base for the purposes of a major precepting authority
    
6. Regulation 7 of the principal Regulations is amended as follows - 

Prescribed period
     7. Regulation 8 of the principal Regulations is amended as follows - 

Determination of billing authority's council tax base
    
8. In regulation 9(3) of the principal Regulations, for "be, 5" substitute "be, 5 or 5AA".



Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State


Phil Hope
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

24th November 2003



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations amend the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/612) ("the principal Regulations") which provide for the calculation by billing authorities and major precepting authorities in England of the council tax bases for the whole and parts of their areas. These Regulations amend the principal Regulations in consequence of the insertion into the Local Government Finance Act 1992 ("the 1992 Act") of section 11A by section 75 of the Local Government Act 2003.

Section 11A of the 1992 Act, allows billing authorities in England to reduce from 50% to a minimum of 10% the discount which applies under section 11 of the 1992 Act to dwellings falling into classes prescribed in regulations, or to reduce or end the 50% discount for dwellings falling into other classes prescribed in regulations. The classes of dwellings are prescribed in the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/3011).

Regulation 2 of these Regulations includes in regulation 1(3) of the principal Regulations, a definition of "relevant percentage". This is in addition to the definition of the appropriate percentage as section 11A of the 1992 Act allows a billing authority to reduce the council tax payable by percentages other than the appropriate percentage (25%) or twice the appropriate percentage.

Regulation 3 of these Regulations inserts a new regulation 5AA into the principal Regulations. This provides for the calculation of "the relevant amounts" by a billing authority for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2004. The relevant amount for each council tax band is a measure of the number of dwellings in that band after taking account of exempt dwellings and discounts. The council tax base for the whole of a billing authority's area (item T in section 33(1) of the 1992 Act) is found by adding together the relevant amount for each council tax band and multiplying this by the authority's estimate of its collection rate (see regulation 3 of the principal Regulations). When calculating the tax base for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2004, regulation 5AA requires the authority to take account of discounts under sections 11 and 11A of the 1992 Act. The relevant day for the financial year commencing 1 April 2004 will be 20 December 2003 (regulation 3(11) of these Regulations). For financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2005, the relevant day will be 30 November in the financial year preceding the year for which the calculations are made.

Regulations 4, 5, 6 and 8 of these Regulations insert references to the new regulation 5AA, and to items in the calculations in the new regulation 5AA, into regulations 5A, 6, 7 and 9 of the principal Regulations. The latter regulations provide for dwellings in band A in respect of which the amount of council tax payable is reduced in accordance with the Council Tax (Reductions for Disabilities) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/554) to be treated as if they were in an additional lower band, for the calculation of the tax base for part of a billing authority's area, for the calculation of the tax base for the purposes of a major precepting authority and for the determination by a major precepting authority of a billing authority's tax base where the billing authority has failed to notify its tax base to the major precepting authority in the prescribed period.

Regulation 7 provides that for the financial year commencing 1 April 2004, the prescribed period within which the council tax base calculations must be carried out begins on 21 December 2003 and ends on 31 January 2004.


Notes:

[1] 1992 c. 14.back

[2] 1999 c. 29.back

[3] The power to make regulations under sections 33(5) and (6), 34(4), 44(5) and (6), 45(4) and (5), 48(5) and (6) and 116 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in relation to Wales transferred from the Secretary of State to the National Assembly for Wales under article 2(a) of and Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672): see the entry in Schedule 1 for the Local Government Finance Act 1992.back

[4] S.I. 1992/612, amended by S.I. 1992/1742, S.I. 1992/2943, S.I. 1999/3123 and S.I. 1999/3437.back

[5] Section 11A was inserted by s.75(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 (c. 26).back

[6] Regulation 5A was inserted by the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I.1999/3123).back

[7] Regulation 4(3)(a) was amended by S.I. 1999/3123.back

[8] Regulation 7(1) was amended by S.I. 1999/3437.back



ISBN 0 11 048207 7


  Prepared 27 November 2003


BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_reg/2003/20033012.html