The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2013

Amendment of the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012

7.  After regulation 90 (alternative means of notifying change of circumstances) insert—

“PART 11A Reviews

Review of determination on an application

90A.— (1) A determination on an application may not be appealed to a valuation appeal committee.

(2) An applicant who is aggrieved by a determination on an application may serve a written notice on the relevant authority requesting that it review its determination.

(3) The notice under paragraph (2) must be served within two months of the determination it relates to and must state the matter by which, and the grounds on which, the applicant is aggrieved.

(4) Where a notice under paragraph (2) is served on a relevant authority, that authority must—

(a) consider the matter to which the notice relates;

(b) within two months of receipt of the notice, redetermine the application or decide that no alteration of the determination is to be made;

(c) notify the applicant in writing of its decision and that if the applicant remains aggrieved then a request for further review may be made within 42 days of the notification, with the address to which any such a request is to be sent.

Request for further review

90B.— (1) A request for further review of a determination on an application must be made in writing within 42 days of the notification by the relevant authority under sub-paragraph (c) of regulation 90A(4) and be served at the address notified under that sub-paragraph.

(2) A request for further review of a determination on an application may also be made where a relevant authority has not notified the applicant of a decision on a request for review under regulation 90A(2) and more than two months have elapsed since the notice requesting review was served.

(3) A request under paragraph (2)—

(a) must be made in writing and be served on the relevant authority; and

(b) prevents the relevant authority from notifying a decision on the request for review under regulation 90A(2).

(4) A request for further review must state the matter by which, and the grounds on which, the applicant is aggrieved.

(5) Where a relevant authority is served with a notice requesting further review it must, as soon as possible, forward it to the panel appointed by the Scottish Ministers under regulation 90C.

Panel to conduct further reviews

90C.— (1) The Scottish Ministers must appoint a panel of persons (“the panel”) to conduct further review of determinations on applications.

(2) A person may only be appointed to the panel if that person—

(a) is a solicitor or advocate in Scotland of at least 5 years’ standing;

(b) has a five year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990(1); or

(c) is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland, or a solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, of at least 5 years’ standing.

(3) A person may not be appointed to the panel, and if appointed must immediately be removed from the panel, if that person—

(a) is a member or employee of a local authority in Scotland;

(b) is a member of Parliament, of the Scottish Parliament or of the European Parliament.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may remove a person from the panel if they consider that the person is unable to discharge the functions of a panel member or is unsuitable to serve on the panel.

(5) A member of the panel is entitled to receive payment of such allowances as the Scottish Ministers may determine in respect of performance of the functions of a panel member.

Conduct of further reviews

90D.— (1) A further review of a determination on an application is to be undertaken by one member of the panel appointed under regulation 90C(1), except as set out in paragraph (8).

(2) A further review is to include an oral hearing unless the parties and the member of the panel who is undertaking the review agree that the review is to be disposed of by written representations.

(3) A party to a further review must, if requested, advise the member of the panel who is undertaking the review—

(a) whether that party agrees that the review may be disposed of by written representations;

(b) whether the applicant has appealed any application for housing benefit that may be relevant to the consideration of the further review, and if so whether that appeal has been determined (insofar as these matters are within the party’s knowledge).

(4) Where either party to a further review is requested by the member of the panel who is undertaking the further review to provide documents or information and fails to respond to that request within such timescale as the member considers reasonable, such inferences may be drawn from the failure as the member sees fit, including the inference that the further review should be allowed or refused.

(5) A request for further review that has been validly made in accordance with regulation 90B may not be withdrawn other than with leave of the member of the panel who is undertaking that review.

(6) The member of the panel who is undertaking the further review—

(a) is to decide the procedure for that review;

(b) may hold any oral hearing in public or private, as the member sees fit;

(c) may request, but has no power to require, the production of documents or the attendance of any person as a witness;

(d) if satisfied that there are good and sufficient reasons for doing so, may refuse to permit a particular person to represent a party at an oral hearing; and

(e) may uphold or reject the request for that review, in full or in part, but must remit any calculation of the amount of an applicant’s entitlement to a council tax reduction to the relevant authority.

(7) The relevant authority must implement the decision of the member of the panel disposing of a request for further review of a determination as soon as is reasonably practicable, including any calculation of the amount of an applicant’s entitlement to a council tax reduction that is required.

(8) In the circumstances of a particular case the Scottish Ministers may consider it appropriate for three members of the panel appointed under regulation 90C(1) to undertake the further review, and in such a case references in this regulation to anything being done or decided by a member of the panel refer to it being done or decided by all three members, or by two of them should they not be agreed.”.

(1)

1990 c.41. Section 71 is relevantly amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 11 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c.4).