Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021 come into force

The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021 came into force on 1 April 2022¹. The Scottish Ministers made the Regulations on 23 June 2021 under powers in sections 80 and 113(1) and (2), and paragraph 1 of schedule 2, of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and laid them before the Scottish Parliament on 25 June 2021¹.

The Regulations prescribe the financial year commencing 1 April 2022 and each subsequent financial year as the years for which they apply¹. They set out who is covered. They apply to a person who has not attained pensionable age, or who has attained pensionable age if that person, or any partner of that person, is on a qualifying income-related benefit or has an award of universal credit¹. They do not apply to a person receiving universal credit, or whose partner receives it, if the person with that award has attained pensionable age, subject to stated exceptions, and do not apply to a couple where only one member has reached pensionable age if that person receives state pension credit and their entitlement is not precluded by an award of universal credit¹.

The Regulations define "council tax reduction" as a reduction in liability for council tax calculated in accordance with them, and "reduction week" as a period of seven consecutive days commencing on a Monday and ending on a Sunday¹. "Child" means a person under the age of 16¹.

The Regulations have been amended since they came into force. Regulation 3(1)(b) was substituted with effect from 1 April 2023 by The Council Tax Reduction and Council Tax (Discounts) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/38), which also substituted regulation 8(2)(f) and (g) from the same date¹. Further changes not yet applied to the text are listed, including the omission of regulation 57(1)(b)(v) and changes to regulation 75(1A) by S.S.I. 2026/259¹.

One Parent Families Scotland, in a submission dated 30 September 2021, said the Regulations consolidate the existing regulations for working age council tax reduction and make significant changes to the way it is calculated for those in receipt of universal credit³. It said that at that time some households received different levels of council tax reduction depending on whether they were getting universal credit or legacy benefits, and that the new scheme sought to address this³. It also said the Scottish Government had prepared a paper modelling the impact of the changes on different household types, and that the Social Justice and Social Security Committee had written to it asking for its views on the Regulations³. The Regulations themselves do not set out the rates or the amounts of reduction in the text quoted here.

Why it matters for households

The Regulations govern council tax reduction in Scotland for the financial year beginning 1 April 2022 and later years¹. Whether a household falls under them turns on age and on which benefits are in payment: a person under pensionable age is covered, and a person over pensionable age is covered only in the circumstances the Regulations set out, including where they or a partner are on a qualifying income-related benefit or have an award of universal credit¹. Couples where only one member has reached pensionable age are treated separately, and the Regulations do not apply where that person receives state pension credit and their entitlement is not precluded by an award of universal credit¹. Because the scheme is set in Scotland, the rules differ from those for council tax reduction elsewhere in the UK.

What happens next

The Regulations apply to the financial year commencing 1 April 2022 and each subsequent financial year¹. Amendments already made take effect on the dates listed above, and further changes listed as yet to be applied include the omission of regulation 57(1)(b)(v) and changes to regulation 75(1A) under S.S.I. 2026/259¹.