(1)Any community charge benefit provided for by virtue of a scheme under section 123 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (in this Act referred to as a community charge benefit scheme) is to be administered by the appropriate authority.
(2)For the purposes of this section in its application to England and Wales, the appropriate authority in relation to a particular benefit is the charging authority as regards whose personal or collective community charge a person is entitled to the benefit.
(3)For the purposes of this section in its application to Scotland, the appropriate authority in relation to a particular benefit is the levying authority—
(a)to which the personal community charge is payable by a person entitled to the benefit; or
(b)in whose area is situated the premises in respect of residence in which for a contribution period a collective community charge contribution is payable.
(4)Charging authorities may agree that one shall carry out responsibilities relating to community charge benefits on another’s behalf.
(5)Levying authorities may agree that one shall carry out responsibilities relating to community charge benefits on another’s behalf.
(6)A charging authority or levying authority may modify any part of the community charge benefit scheme administered by the authority—
(a)so as to provide for disregarding, in determining a person’s income, the whole or part of any war disablement pension or war widow’s pension payable to that person or to his partner or to a person to whom he is polygamously married;
(b)to such extent in other respects as may be prescribed,
and any such modifications may be adopted by resolution of an authority.
(7)Modifications other than such modifications as are mentioned in subsection (6)(a) above shall be so framed as to secure that, in the estimate of the authority adopting them, the total of the benefits which will be allowed by the authority for any year will not exceed the permitted total of benefits for that year.
(8)An authority which has adopted modifications may by resolution revoke or vary them.
(9)If the community charge benefit scheme includes power for an authority to exercise a discretion in allowing community charge benefits, the authority shall not exercise that discretion so that the total of the benefits allowed by it for any year exceeds the permitted total of benefits for that year.
(10)In relation to any authority the permitted total of benefits for any year shall be such amount as is calculated in accordance with rules contained in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(11)In this section—
“modifications” includes additions, omissions and amendments, and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“partner”, in relation to a person, means the other member of the couple concerned;
“war disablement pension” means—
any retired pay, pension or allowance granted in respect of disablement under powers conferred by or under the [1917 c. 51.] Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917, the [1939 c. 82.] Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act 1939, the [1939 c. 83.] Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act 1939, the [1947 c. 19.] Polish Resettlement Act 1947 or Part VII or section 151 of the [1980 c. 9.] Reserve Forces Act 1980;
without prejudice to paragraph (a) of this definition, any retired pay or pension to which subsection (1) of section 315 of the [1988 c. 1.] Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 applies; and
“war widow’s pension” means any widow’s pension or allowance granted in respect of a death due to service or war injury and payable by virtue of any enactment mentioned in paragraph (a) of the preceding definition or a pension or allowance for a widow granted under any scheme mentioned in section 315(2)(e) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.