Appendix 1
S.I. 2012/20: memorandum from the Department for
Communities and Local Government
Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance)
(Amendment) Regulations 2012
(S.I. 2012/20)
1. The Committee has requested a memorandum on
the following point:
Explain precisely why the technical nature of
the Regulations referred to in paragraph 3.4 of the Explanatory
Memorandum occasioned the failure to comply with the 21-day rule.
2. The Localism Bill received Royal Assent on
15th November 2011, and the provisions relating to council tax
were commenced by Order on 3rd December. The Government gave very
high priority to ensuring that the measures providing for council
tax referendums should be effective by the time local authorities
set their council tax for 2012-13 (i.e. mid February in practice,
with statutory deadlines of 1st March and 11th March for precepting
authorities and billing authorities respectively).
3. As well as the council tax principles, a number
of statutory instruments had to be produced in a very short time
to achieve this objective, most of which would apply to all local
authorities, police authorities and fire and rescue authorities.
They included amendments to the Demand Notice regulations, and
new regulations relating to the conduct and consequences of council
tax referendums as well as S.I. 2012/20.
4. S.I. 2012/20 is a very specialised, technically
complex, instrument which, for 2012-13 applies only to two local
authorities which emerged from restructuring in 2009 but which
have not yet equalised the council tax applicable to their predecessor
areas. It defines how the council tax principles defining when
a referendum would be triggered should be applied in these circumstances.
5. The council tax principles report for 2012-13
had to be approved no later than the date when the local government
finance report for 2012-13 is approved. The council tax principles
report therefore had to be made and laid in the House of Commons
no later than the local government finance report; namely, mid
to late January 2012. S.I. 2012/20 was also needed by that date
to complete the definition of how those principles would apply.
6. Although necessary to ensure that they were
covered by the new legislation, the Department was aware that
in practice these two authorities had no intention of triggering
a referendum. In the circumstances, it was necessary to prioritise
allocation of resources to the preparation of the various statutory
instruments, and in consequence to delay the preparation of S.I.
2012/20 until the others had been completed. This, combined with
the need to make and lay the Regulations alongside the principles
report, resulted in a failure to comply with the 21-day rule,
for which the Department apologises.
Department for Communities and Local Government
6 March 2012
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