The Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Amendment Order 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Under Part II of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the amount payable for council tax is reduced where a person resident in a dwelling in Scotland falls to be disregarded for the purposes of discount. Schedule 1 to the 1992 Act provides for classes of persons to qualify for the purposes of discount. The Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Order 1992 makes further provision in relation to certain of those classes. That Order is amended by this Order in the following respects.

The amendments in article 2(a) and (c) of this Order ensure that severely mentally impaired people eligible for certain benefits do not cease to be disregarded when they reach retirement age, and that a person who is the partner of a jobseeker whose jobseeker’s allowance (under the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c. 18)) is increased on grounds of that person’s incapacity for work may qualify for the purposes of the discount.

The amendment in article 2(b) provides that a severely mentally impaired person is disregarded if in receipt of incapacity benefit under section 40 or 41 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

The amendments in article 3 enable students to qualify for the purposes of discount even during a period when they are not attending their course of education.