The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012

4.—(1) The amount for the purposes of regulations 21(c) and 22(d) in respect of a family of which at least one member is a child or young person is—

(a) where the applicant is a lone parent to whom sub-paragraph (2) applies, £22.20;

(b) in any other case, £17.40.

(2) The amount in sub-paragraph (1)(a) is applicable to a lone parent—

(a) who was entitled to council tax benefit under the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) on 5th April 1998 and whose applicable amount on that date for the purpose of those Regulations included the amount applicable under paragraph 3(3)(a) of Schedule 1 to those Regulations as in force on that date; or

(b) on becoming entitled to council tax reduction where that lone parent—

(i) had been treated as entitled to council tax reduction in accordance with sub-paragraph (4) or to council tax benefit in accordance with paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 1 (family premium) to the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006(1) (“the 2006 Regulations”) as at the day before the date of application for council tax reduction; and

(ii) was entitled to housing benefit as at the date of application for council tax reduction or would have been entitled to housing benefit as at that date had that day not fallen during a rent free period as defined in regulation 81 of the Housing Benefit Regulations(2),

and in respect of whom, all of the conditions specified in sub-paragraph (3) continue to apply.

(3) The conditions specified for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) are that, in respect of the period commencing on 6th April 1998—

(a) the applicant did not cease to be entitled, or did not cease to be treated as entitled, to council tax benefit under the 1992 Regulations or the 2006 Regulations at any time on or before 31st March 2013;

(b) the applicant has not ceased to be entitled, or has not ceased to be treated as entitled, to council tax reduction;

(c) the applicant has not ceased to be a lone parent;

(d) where the applicant was entitled to income support or to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance on 5th April 1998, the applicant has continuously, since that date, been entitled to income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance or a combination of those benefits;

(e) where the applicant was not entitled to income support or to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance on 5th April 1998, the applicant has not become entitled to income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance; and

(f) a premium or components under paragraph 9 (disability premium), paragraph 21 (work-related activity component) or paragraph 22 (support component) of this Schedule, paragraph 12 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Regulations or paragraph 12, 23 or 24 of Schedule 1 to the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 has not, or did not, become applicable to the applicant.

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (2)(b)(i) and (3)(a), an applicant is to be treated as having been entitled to council tax reduction during any period where the applicant was not, or had ceased to be, entitled and—

(a) throughout that period, the applicant had been awarded housing benefit and the applicable amount included the amount applicable under paragraph 3(1)(a) of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit Regulations(3) (lone parent rate of family premium); or

(b) the applicant would have been awarded housing benefit during that period had that period not been a rent free period as defined in regulation 81 of the Housing Benefit Regulations and the applicant’s applicable amount throughout that period would have included the amount applicable under paragraph 3(1)(a) of Schedule 3 to those Regulations.

(1)

S.I. 2006/215.

(2)

Regulation 81 was substituted by S.I. 2007/2868.

(3)

Paragraph 3(1)(a) was amended by S.I. 2011/2425.