Local Government Finance Act 1988

2 (1) Section 20 (income-related benefits) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1) the word “and” shall be omitted and at the end of the subsection there shall be inserted “and

(d) community charge benefits.”

(3) After subsection (8) there shall be inserted—

“(8A) A person is entitled to a community charge benefit in respect of a particular day falling after 31 March 1990 if each of the three conditions set out in subsections (8B) to (8E) below is fulfilled.

(8B) In relation to England and Wales, the first condition is that—

(a) for the day the person concerned is shown, in a charging authority’s community charges register, as subject to a personal community charge of the authority and is not there shown as undertaking a full-time course of education on the day, or

(b) the day consists of or falls within a contribution period in respect of which the person concerned is liable to pay an amount under section 9 of the 1988 Act (collective community charge contributions).

(8C) In relation to Scotland, the first condition is that—

(a) in respect of the day the person concerned is shown, in a community charges register, as being liable to pay the personal community charge and is not there shown as undertaking a full-time course of education or nursing education on the day, or

(b) the day consists of or falls within a contribution period in respect of which the person concerned is liable to pay a collective community charge contribution under section 11(11) of the 1987 Act.

(8D) The second condition is that there is an appropriate maximum community charge benefit in the case of the person concerned.

(8E) The third condition is that—

(a) the day falls within a week in respect of which the person concerned has no income,

(b) the day falls within a week in respect of which his income does not exceed the applicable amount, or

(c) neither paragraph (a) nor paragraph (b) above is fulfilled in his case but amount A exceeds amount B.

(8F) As regards a person—

(a) amount A is the appropriate maximum community charge benefit in his case, and

(b) amount B is a prescribed percentage of the difference between his income in respect of the week in which the day falls and the applicable amount.

(8G) In respect of the same day, a person shall be entitled to a separate community charge benefit in respect of each charge or contribution period concerned (if more than one).

(8H) But regulations may provide that if—

(a) a person would (apart from the regulations) be entitled, in respect of the same day, to separate community charge benefits, and

(b) the circumstances are such as are prescribed,

he shall not be entitled to such one of the benefits as may be identified in accordance with prescribed rules.”

(4) After subsection (9) there shall be inserted—

“(9A) Subsection (9) above does not prevent different members of the same family becoming entitled to different community charge benefits by virtue of their fulfilling the conditions in respect of different charges or of different contribution periods.”

(5) In subsection (11)—

(a) before the definition of child there shall be inserted—

““chargeable financial year” has the same meaning as in the 1988 Act;

“charging authority” has the same meaning as in the 1988 Act;”

(b) after the definition of child there shall be inserted—

• ““contribution period”, in relation to England and Wales, has the same meaning as in section 9 of the 1988 Act;

• “contribution period”, in relation to Scotland, means a continuous period of residence in any premises (which falls in a chargeable financial year) in respect of each day of which a person is liable to pay a collective community charge contribution under section 11(11) of the 1987 Act;”

(c) after the definition of family there shall be inserted—

• ““levying authority” has the same meaning as in the 1987 Act;”

(d) after the definition of married couple there shall be inserted—

• ““the 1987 act” means the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987;

• “the 1988 Act” means the Local Government Finance Act 1988;”

(e) after the definition of unmarried couple there shall be inserted—

• ““week”, in relation to community charge benefits, means a period of seven days beginning with a Monday.”