The Council Tax (Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2019

Title, commencement and application

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Council Tax (Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2019.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 1 April 2019.

(3) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Amendments to the Council Tax (Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) Regulations 1992

2.—(1) The Council Tax (Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) Regulations 1992(1) are amended as follows.

(2) For the title to regulation 3, substitute “Persons of other descriptions: England”.

(3) At the beginning of regulation 3, insert “In relation to dwellings in England,”.

(4) After regulation 3, insert—

“Persons of other descriptions: Wales

4.— (1) In relation to dwellings in Wales, a person is disregarded for the purposes of discount on a particular day, by virtue of paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to the Act, if the person—

(a) falls within one of the classes prescribed in regulation 5; and

(b) fulfils the conditions prescribed in that class.

5.   The prescribed classes are—

International Headquarters and Defence Organisations

(1) Class A: a member or a dependent of a member, within the meanings given by the Schedule to the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964(2), of a headquarters or organisation which is on that day the subject of a designation by an Order in Council under section 1 of that Act.

Religious Communities

(2) Class B: a person who—

(a) is a member of a religious community the principal occupation of which consists of prayer, contemplation, education, the relief of suffering, or any combination of these; and

(b) has no income or capital of their own (disregarding any income by way of a pension in respect of former employment) and is dependent on the community to provide for their material needs.

School and college leavers

(3) (a) Class C: a person who—

(i) is under the age of 20; and

(ii) has within a relevant period ceased to undertake a qualifying course of education or a full time course of education.

(b) In this paragraph—

(i) “relevant period” means the period after 30th April and before 1st November in any year;

(ii) “qualifying course of education” and “full time course of education” have the same meaning as in Part II of Schedule 1 to the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992(3); and

(iii) the day in question must be within the same relevant period as that in which the cessation takes place.

Visiting forces

(4) Class D: a person who has a relevant association, within the meaning of Part 1 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952(4), with a body, contingent or detachment of the forces of a country, to which any provision in that Part applies on that day.

Spouses, civil partners and dependants of students

(5) Class E: a person who is—

(a) the spouse or civil partner or dependant of a student within the meaning of paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Act; and

(b) not a British citizen and who is prevented, by the terms of their leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, from taking paid employment or from claiming benefits.

Diplomats and people who benefit from diplomatic immunity

(6) Class F: a person who satisfies the conditions in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b)—

(a) the person falls within one of the following descriptions—

(i) a person on whom privileges and immunities are conferred by the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964(5); or

(ii) a person on whom privileges and immunities are conferred under paragraph 5(1) of Part II of the Schedule to the Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966(6); or

(iii) a person on whom privileges and immunities are conferred by section 1 of the Consular Relations Act 1968(7); or

(iv) a person who is, in relation to any organisation specified in an Order in Council made under section 1(2) of the International Organisations Act 1968(8), within a class of persons mentioned in section 1(3) of that Act to which the relevant Order extended relief from rates as specified in paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to that Act; or

(v) a person on whom privileges and immunities are conferred by article 3 or 4 of the Commonwealth Countries and Republic of Ireland (Immunities and Privileges) Order 1985(9); or

(vi) the head of any office established as described in section 1(1) of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Act 1996(10);

(b) the person does not fall within any of the following descriptions—

(i) a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen; or

(ii) a person who under the British Nationality Act 1981(11) is a British subject; or

(iii) a British protected person (within the meaning of that Act); or

(iv) a permanent resident of the United Kingdom.

Care leavers

(7) Class G: a person who is—

(a) aged 24 or under; and

(b) a category 3 young person as defined by section 104 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014(12).”

Rebecca Evans

Minister for Finance and Trefnydd, one of the Welsh Ministers

4 March 2019