The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Council Tax Reduction Schemes and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2012 (“the prescribed requirements Regulations”) and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Default Scheme) (Wales) Regulations 2012 (“the default scheme Regulations”) made under section 13A(4) of, and Schedule 1B to, the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The prescribed requirements Regulations require each billing authority in Wales to make a scheme specifying the reductions which are to apply to amounts of council tax payable by persons, or classes of persons, whom the authority considers are in financial need. The prescribed requirements Regulations also set out matters that should be included within such a scheme. The default scheme Regulations set out a scheme which will take effect, in respect of dwellings situated in the area of a billing authority, if the authority fails to make its own scheme on or before 31 January 2013.

These Regulations amend the prescribed requirements Regulations and the default scheme Regulations. They increase the maximum amount of council tax reduction a person can receive under an authority’s scheme from 90 per cent to 100 per cent (regulations 3, 6 and 14), and they increase certain of the figures which are used in calculating whether a person is entitled to a reduction, and the amount of that reduction. The up-rated figures relate to non-dependant deductions (adjustments made to the maximum amount of reduction a person can receive to take account of adults living in the dwelling who are not dependants of the applicant) (regulations 4, 7 and 15); and the applicable amount in relation to an application for a reduction (the amount against which an applicant’s income is compared in order to determine the amount of reduction to which the applicant is entitled (regulations 5, 10, 19 and 20). The Regulations also amend errors that appeared in both the prescribed requirements Regulations and the default scheme Regulations (regulations 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 and 21).

The Welsh Ministers' Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.