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PART II |
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REGULATION OF COUNCIL TAX AND PRECEPTS |
| Limitation of council tax and precepts. |
29. - (1) Schedule 1 shall have effect.
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(2) That Schedule shall apply in relation to the limitation of council tax and precepts as regards the financial year beginning with 1st April 2000 and subsequent financial years.
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| Major precepting authorities: further regulation. |
30. - (1) This section applies if the amount calculated by a major precepting authority as its budget requirement for a financial year is excessive.
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(2) Whether an amount is excessive shall be determined by reference to criteria specified and published by the Secretary of State.
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(3) Where this section applies the precepting authority must pay a sum to each billing authority to which the precepting authority has power to issue a precept.
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(4) The Secretary of State's criteria may refer to such factors as he thinks fit, and-
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(a) the factors may differ from factors relevant for the purposes of Chapter IVA or V of Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992; |
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(b) different factors may be applied with regard to different authorities or categories of authority; |
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(c) any category determined for this purpose may be different from any category or class relevant for the purposes of Chapter IVA or V. |
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(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision-
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(a) as to how sums are to be calculated; |
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(b) as to the manner in which sums are to be paid; |
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(c) as to the period within which, or time or times at which, sums or instalments of sums are to be paid; |
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(d) as to the recovery (by deduction or otherwise) of any excess amount paid by a precepting authority in purported discharge of any liability arising by virtue of this section; |
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(e) that if a sum or instalment is not paid to a billing authority in accordance with this section and the regulations, the authority is to be entitled to interest from the precepting authority on the amount of the sum or instalment; |
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(f) requiring a major precepting authority to supply information to a billing authority to which the precepting authority has power to issue a precept; |
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(g) as to the form and manner in which the information is to be supplied; |
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(h) as to the time when the information is to be supplied. |
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(6) The regulations may make different provision in relation to different authorities or categories of authority; and in particular they may require a precepting authority to pay different sums to different billing authorities.
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(7) Subject to subsection (11), this section applies as regards the financial year beginning with 1st April 1999 and subsequent financial years.
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(8) The power to make the regulations shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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(9) In this section "billing authority" and "major precepting authority" have the same meaning as in Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
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(10) The reference in this section to the amount calculated by a major precepting authority as its budget requirement for a financial year is to the amount calculated by it in relation to the year under-
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(a) section 70(8) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (where the authority is the Greater London Authority), or |
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(b) section 43(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (in any other case). |
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(11) In its application as regards the financial year beginning with 1st April 1999 this section shall have effect with the following modifications-
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(a) whether an amount is excessive for the purposes of subsection (1) shall be determined by the Secretary of State, |
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(b) the Secretary of State shall inform a major precepting authority if he determines that this section applies in relation to it, |
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(c) the Secretary of State may base his opinion on such factors as he thinks fit (for which purpose subsection (4)(a) to (c) shall have effect), and |
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(d) the Secretary of State may, in particular, base his opinion on guidance which he has published before the coming into force of this section. |
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(12) This section shall apply separately to England and to Wales.
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(13) In its application to Wales this section shall have effect with these modifications-
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(a) for each reference to the Secretary of State there shall be substituted a reference to the National Assembly for Wales; |
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(b) in subsection (8) the words "subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament" shall be omitted. |
