The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021

21.—(1) A payment received within the past 52 weeks by way of arrears of, or compensation for late payment of—

(a) universal credit,

(b) a benefit abolished by section 33 of the 2012 Act,

(c) a social security benefit which is not included as unearned income under regulation 57(1)(a) or 57(1)(b).

(2) In sub-paragraph (1)(c) a “social security benefit” means a benefit under any enactment relating to social security in any part of the United Kingdom.

(3) In a case where the total of any arrears and, if appropriate, any concessionary payment referred to in sub-paragraph (1), relating to one social security benefit, amounts to £5,000 or more (“the relevant sum”) and is—

(a) paid in order to rectify, or compensate for—

(i) an official error as defined in regulation 1(3) of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999(1),

(ii) an error on a point of law made by an officer, person or body described in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of “official error” in regulation 1(3) of those Regulations, or

(iii) any error made by a member of the Scottish Administration involved in the administration of social security benefits to which no person outside the Scottish Government or the Department for Work and Pensions materially contributed, and is

(b) received by the applicant in full on or after 14th October 2001,

sub-paragraph (1) has effect in relation to the arrears or concessionary payment either for a period of 52 weeks from the date of receipt, or, if the relevant sum is received in its entirety during the period of entitlement to council tax reduction, for the remainder of that period if it is a longer period.

(4) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (3), “the period of entitlement to council tax reduction” means—

(a) the period of entitlement to council tax reduction in which the relevant sum is first received (or the first part of the relevant sum where it is paid in more than one instalment), and

(b) where that period of entitlement is followed by one or more periods of entitlement which, or each of which, begins immediately after the end of the previous period, such further period provided that for that further period the applicant—

(i) is the person who received the relevant sum, or

(ii) is the partner of the person who received the relevant sum, or was that person’s partner at the date of the partner’s death.

(1)

S.I. 1999/991, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.