Citation, commencement and application

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and come into force on 11th February 2020.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to council tax reduction schemes( 2 ) made by billing authorities( 3 ) for financial years beginning on or after 1st April 2020.

Amendment of the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012

2.The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012( 4 ) are amended as follows.

Amendment of regulation 2

3. In regulation 2 (interpretation)—

(a) at the appropriate place in the alphabetical order, insert—

“ “the Grenfell Tower charitable funds” means the funds identified in the document entitled “Charity Commission for England and Wales – Grenfell Tower charitable funds update – 29th January 2019” ( 5 ) ; ” ;

“ “the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund” means the £5 million fund announced on 16th June 2017 and administered by Westminster City Council for the benefit of households affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14th June 2017; ” ;

“ “Grenfell Tower support payment” means any payment made by the council of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to an individual as a result of the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14th June 2017; ” ;

“ “parental bereavement leave” means leave under section 80EA of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ( 6 ) ; ” ;

“ “statutory parental bereavement pay” means a payment to which a person is entitled in accordance with section 171ZZ6 of the Social Security Contribution and Benefits Act 1992 ( 7 ) ; ” ;

“ “the Windrush Compensation Scheme” means—

(a) the scheme of that name ( 8 ) operated by the Secretary of State for the purpose of compensating individuals who have suffered loss in connection with being unable to demonstrate their lawful status in the United Kingdom; and

(b) the policy entitled “Windrush Scheme: Support in urgent and exceptional circumstances” ( 9 ) which was operated by the Secretary of State for the purpose of compensating individuals who, for urgent and exceptional reasons, required support in advance of the scheme referred to in paragraph (a) of this definition becoming operational; ” ;

(b) for the definition of “qualifying person”, substitute—

“ “qualifying person” means—

Amendment of regulation 4

4. In regulation 4 (meaning of “couple”), in paragraph (b), for “as a married couple” substitute “as if they were a married couple or civil partners”.

Amendment of regulation 10

5. In regulation 10 (remunerative work), in paragraph (7), after “shared parental leave” insert “, parental bereavement leave”.

Amendment of regulation 12

6. In regulation 12 (persons treated as not being in Great Britain)—

(a) in paragraph (4)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (a), omit “or Article 6 of Council Directive 2004/38/EC

(ii) omit sub-paragraph (ab);

(iii) in sub-paragraph (b)—

(aa) for “15A(1)” substitute “16”;

(bb) for “(4A)” substitute “(5)”;

(cc) omit the words from “or Article 20” to the end;

(b) after paragraph (4) insert—

“ (4A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), a right to reside does not include a right which exists by virtue of a person having been granted limited leave to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 ( 10 ) by virtue of—

(a) article 3 (grant of leave to EEA and Swiss nationals) of the Immigration (European Economic Area Nationals) (EU Exit) Order 2019 ( 11 ) made under section 3A of that Act;

(b) Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act; or

(c) being a person with a Zambrano right to reside as defined in Annex 1 of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act. ” ;

(c) in paragraph (5)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (h), insert “or”;

(ii) at the end of sub-paragraph (ha), omit “or”;

(iii) omit sub-paragraph (i);

(d) in paragraph (8), in the definition of “EEA Regulations” for “2006” substitute “2016( 12 )”.

Amendment of Schedule 1

7. In Schedule 1 (pensioners: matters that must be included in an authority’s scheme)—

(a) in paragraph 8 (non-dependant deductions)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (1)(a), for “£12.20” substitute “£12.40”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (1)(b), for “£4.00” substitute “£4.05”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (2)(a), for “£207.70” substitute “£217.00”;

(iv) in sub-paragraph (2)(b), for “£207.70”, “£360.10” and “£8.10” substitute “£217.00”, “£377.00” and “£8.25” respectively;

(v) in sub-paragraph (2)(c), for “£360.10”, “£447.40” and “£10.20” substitute “£377.00”, “£469.00” and “£10.35” respectively;

(vi) in sub-paragraph (9)(b), after “the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” insert “, the Grenfell Tower charitable funds, the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund, the Windrush Compensation Scheme”;

(vii) after sub-paragraph (9)(b), insert—

“ (ba) any Grenfell Tower support payment which is paid as income in kind (see sub-paragraph (13)); ” ;

(viii) in sub-paragraph (10)(a), after “the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” insert “, the Grenfell Tower charitable funds, the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund, the Windrush Compensation Scheme”;

(ix) after sub-paragraph (10)(a), insert—

“ (aa) any Grenfell Tower support payment; ” ;

(x) in sub-paragraph (10)(b), after “paragraph (a) refers” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(xi) in sub-paragraph (10)(c), after “paragraph (a) refers” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(xii) in sub-paragraph (10)(d), after “paragraph (a) refers” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(xiii) in sub-paragraph (10)(e), after “paragraph (a) refers” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(xiv) for sub-paragraph (10)(f), substitute—

“ (f) in the case of a person to whom or for whose benefit a payment referred to in this sub-paragraph is made, any income which derives from—

(i) any payment of income or capital made under or deriving from any of the Trusts referred to in paragraph (a); or

(ii) a Grenfell Tower support payment; ” ;

(b) in paragraph 16(1)(j) (meaning of income)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (xvia), insert—

“ (xvib) statutory parental bereavement pay under Part 12ZD of that Act ( 13 ) ; ” ;

(ii) after sub-paragraph (xx), insert—

“ (xxi) early years assistance given in accordance with section 32 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 ( 14 ) ;

(xxii) funeral expense assistance given in accordance with section 34 of that Act; ” ;

(c) in paragraph 18 (earnings of employed earners), after sub-paragraph (1)(ja) insert—

“ (jb) statutory parental bereavement pay under Part 12ZD of that Act ( 15 ) ; ” ;

(d) in paragraph 19 (calculation of net earnings of employed earners), in sub-paragraph (2)(d), after “statutory shared parental pay” insert “, statutory parental bereavement pay”;

(e) in paragraph 25 (treatment of child care charges)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (14)—

(aa) in the words before paragraph (a), after “shared parental leave” insert “, parental bereavement leave”;

(bb) in paragraph (a), after “shared parental leave” insert “, parental bereavement leave”;

(cc) in paragraph (c), after “statutory shared parental pay by virtue of section 171ZU or 171ZV of that Act( 16 )” insert “, statutory parental bereavement pay by virtue of section 171ZZ6 of that Act”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (15)—

(aa) in the words before paragraph (a), after “shared parental leave” insert “, parental bereavement leave”;

(bb) in paragraph (b), for “statutory shared paternity pay” substitute “statutory shared parental pay, statutory parental bereavement pay”;

(cc) in paragraph (c), for “statutory shared paternity pay” substitute “statutory shared parental pay, statutory parental bereavement pay”.

Amendment of Schedule 2

8. In Schedule 2 (applicable amounts)—

(a) in column (2) of the Table in paragraph 1 (personal allowance)—

(i) in paragraph (1) for “£181.00” substitute “£187.75”;

(ii) in paragraph (2) for “£270.60” substitute “£280.85”;

(iii) in paragraph (3)(a) for “£270.60” substitute “£280.85”;

(iv) in paragraph (3)(b) for “£89.60” substitute “£93.10”;

(b) in column (2) of the Table in paragraph 2(1) (child or young person amounts), in paragraphs (a) and (b), for “£66.90” substitute “£68.27”;

(c) in the second column of the Table in Part 4 (amounts of premium specified in Part 3)—

(i) in paragraph (1)(a) and (b)(i) for “£65.85” substitute “£66.95”;

(ii) in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) for “£131.70” substitute “£133.90”;

(iii) in paragraph (2) for “£26.04” substitute “£26.60”;

(iv) in paragraph (3) for “£64.19” substitute “£65.52”;

(v) in paragraph (4) for “£36.85” substitute “£37.50”.

Amendment of Schedule 3

9. In Schedule 3 (amount of alternative maximum council tax reduction), in column (1) of the Table in paragraph 1—

(a) in sub-paragraph (b)(i), for “£206.00” substitute “£215.00”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (b)(ii), for £206.00” and “£266.00” substitute “£215.00” and “£279.00” respectively.

Amendment of Schedule 5

10. In Schedule 5 (amounts to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings), in paragraph 19(2)(b), for “£57.90” substitute “£58.90”.

Amendment of Schedule 6

11. In Schedule 6 (capital disregards), in Part 1 (capital to be disregarded)—

(a) in paragraph 16—

(i) in sub-paragraph (1)(a), after “the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” insert “, the Grenfell Tower charitable funds, the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund, the Windrush Compensation Scheme”;

(ii) after sub-paragraph (1), insert—

“ (1A) Any Grenfell Tower support payment. ” ;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (2), after “any of the Trusts” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(iv) in sub-paragraph (3), after “any of the Trusts” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(v) in sub-paragraph (5), after “any of the Trusts” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(vi) in sub-paragraph (6), after “any of the Trusts” insert “or from a Grenfell Tower support payment”;

(vii) for sub-paragraph (7), substitute—

“ (7) In the case of a person to whom or for whose benefit a payment referred to in this paragraph is made, any capital resource which derives from—

(a) any payment of income or capital made under or deriving from any of the Trusts; or

(b) a Grenfell Tower support payment. ” ;

(b) in paragraph 21(2)—

(i) at the end of paragraph (p), omit “or”;

(ii) after paragraph (q), insert—

“ (r) maternity allowance under section 35 of the SSCBA ( 17 ) (state maternity allowance for employed or self-employed earner);

(s) early years assistance given in accordance with section 32 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018; or

(t) funeral expense assistance given in accordance with section 34 of that Act ” .

Amendment of Schedule 8

12. In Schedule 8 (all applicants: matters that must be included in an authority’s scheme – other matters), in paragraph 7 (information and evidence)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (7)(a), after “the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” insert “, the Grenfell Tower charitable funds, the Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund, the Windrush Compensation Scheme”;

(b) after paragraph 7(a), insert—

“ (aa) a Grenfell Tower support payment; ” .