Statutory Instruments
1997 No. 75
COMMUNITY CHARGES, ENGLAND AND WALES
COUNCIL TAX, ENGLAND AND WALES
RATING AND VALUATION
The Local Government Changes for England (Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals) Regulations 1997
Made
16th January 1997
Laid before Parliament
21st January 1997
Coming into force
for the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3) of regulation 4
11th February 1997
for all other purposes
1st April 1997
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 140(4), 143(1) and (2) of, and paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 11 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988(1), and sections 19(1) and 26(3) of the Local Government Act 1992(2), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Changes for England (Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force—
(a)for the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3) of regulation 4 on 11th February 1997, and
(b)for all other purposes on 1st April 1997.
Amendment of the principal regulations
2. The Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989(3) (‘the principal regulations’) are amended in accordance with the following provisions of these regulations.
Membership of tribunals
3.—(1) For regulation 4 (membership) there is substituted—
“4.—(1) The Secretary of State shall, subject to paragraph (4), determine the number of members of each tribunal.
(2) The members of each tribunal shall, subject to paragraph (3), be appointed by the body or bodies identified in relation to that tribunal in column 3 of Schedule 1.
(3) Where there is more than one such body there identified—
(a)where in relation to a tribunal numbers are specified in column 4 of Schedule 1, the appointments to that tribunal shall be made by the bodies named in column 3 in the ratio which those numbers bear to one another; and
(b)in any other case the appointments shall be made by each body in equal proportions.
(4) Where by virtue of this regulation more than one body is provided in relation to a tribunal, the number of members determined under paragraph (1) shall be a multiple of—
(a)the sum of any numbers specified in relation to that tribunal in column 4 of Schedule 1; or
(b)where no numbers are so specified, the number of those bodies.
(5) Where the appointment of a member terminates in accordance with these Regulations, a further appointment shall be made by the body which appointed that member.
(6) A person may not be appointed as a member of a tribunal if he or his spouse is an employee of that tribunal.”
(2) In regulation 6 there is added—
(a)in paragraphs (2)(b) and (4), after ‘paragraph (3)’ the words ‘or (3A)’;
(b)after paragraph (3)—
“(3A) Where the appointing body by which a member was appointed has ceased to exist, the president shall, if so directed by the Secretary of State after consultation with him, by notice in writing give the member such period of notice of termination of office under this paragraph as may be so directed.”
(3) For Schedule 1 to the principal regulations there is substituted Schedule 1 below.
Transitional provision
4.—(1) Each member of a tribunal mentioned in column 1 of Schedule 2 (a ‘relevant tribunal’) holding office as such at the end of 31st March 1997 shall continue to hold such office until it terminates in accordance with regulation 6(2) of the principal regulations.
(2) Paragraph (3) applies to any vacancy in the membership of a relevant tribunal—
(a)created by an increase effective on 1st April 1997 in the number of its members, or
(b)existing on that date by reason of the failure of an appointing body to make an appointment before that date, or
(c)occurring on or after that date.
(3) Notwithstanding regulation 4(5) of the principal regulations (as substituted by these regulations), a vacancy to which this paragraph applies shall be filled by the body or bodies specified in relation to the relevant tribunal in column 2 of Schedule 2, in the order (if any) in which they are mentioned in that column, until the number of vacancies specified in column 3 in relation to each body has been filled in pursuance of this regulation.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State
David Curry
Minister of State,
Department of the Environment
16th January 1997
Regulation 3.
SCHEDULE 1TRIBUNAL MEMBERSHIP
1
2
3
4
Area of jurisdiction
Name of tribunal
Appointing body or bodies
Numbers
Each non-metropolitan county other than one listed below
The name of the county
The council of the county
Each of the following metropolitan counties: Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire
The name of the county
The councils of the districts in the county
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire County Council
Luton Borough Council
2
1
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire County Council
Milton Keynes Borough Council
3
1
Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Council
Derby City Council
7
2
Dorset
Dorset
Dorset County Council
Bournemouth Borough Council
Poole Borough Council
6
3
2
Durham
Durham
Durham County Council
Darlington Borough Council
5
1
East Riding of Yorkshire etc.
The districts of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Selby and York and the City of Kingston-upon-Hull
East Yorkshire
North Yorkshire County Council
East Riding District Council
York City Council
Kingston-upon-Hull City Council
1
3
1
2
East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex County Council
Brighton and Hove District Council
2
1
Essex
The districts of Braintree, Maldon, Tendring and Uttlesford and the boroughs of Chelmsford and Colchester
Essex North
Essex County Council
The districts of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Epping Forest, Harlow and Rochford and the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock
Essex South
Essex County Council
Hampshire
The districts of East Hampshire and Hart, the boroughs of Basingstoke and Deane, Rushmoor and Test Valley and the City of Winchester
Hampshire North
Hampshire County Council
The district of New Forest, the boroughs of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport and Havant and the Cities of Portsmouth and Southampton
Hampshire South
Hampshire County Council
Portsmouth City Council
Southampton City Council
5
1
1
Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Council
Leicester City Council
Rutland District Council
14
10
1
Lincolnshire
The county of Lincolnshire, and the districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire County Council
North Lincolnshire District Council
North East Lincolnshire District Council
4
1
1
North Yorkshire
The county of North Yorkshire other than the districts of Selby and York
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire County Council
Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
3
1
Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire County Council
Thamesdown Borough Council
5
2
Bath & North East Somerset etc.
The districts of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and the City of Bristol
Severnside
The councils of the districts comprised in the area
Hartlepool etc.
The districts of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees
Teesside
The councils of the districts comprised in the area
Greater London
The City of London, the City of Westminster, the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple
Central London
Westminster City Council and the Common Council
The London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Islington, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest
London North East
The councils of the boroughs comprised in the area
The London boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow and Hillingdon
London North West
The councils of the boroughs comprised in the area
The London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark
London South East
The councils of the boroughs comprised in the area
The London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth and the Royal boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Kingston-upon-Thames
London South West
The councils of the boroughs comprised in the area
Greater Manchester
The districts of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Tameside, Rochdale and Wigan
Manchester North
The councils of the districts comprised in the area
The districts of Stockport and Trafford and the Cities of Manchester and Salford
Manchester South
The councils of the districts comprised in the area
West Midlands
The City of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham City Council
The borough of Solihull and the City of Coventry
Coventry and Solihull
Coventry City Council and Solihull Borough Council
The districts of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton
West Midlands West
The councils of the districts comprised in the area
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Council of the Isles of Scilly
Regulation 4
SCHEDULE 2TRANSITIONAL VACANCIES
1
2
3
Tribunal
Appointing Body
Number of vacancies
Bedfordshire
Luton Borough Council
7
Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes Borough Council
9
Derbyshire
Derby City Council
14
Dorset
Bournemouth Borough Council
Poole Borough Council
9
6
Durham
Darlington Borough Council
7
Hampshire South
Portsmouth City Council
Southampton City Council
5
5
Leicestershire
Leicester City Council
Rutland District Council
20
2
East Sussex
Brighton and Hove District Council
12
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
14
Wiltshire
Thamesdown Borough Council
6
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Under Part II of the Local Government Act 1992, where recommendations for changes to local government in England are made by the Local Government Commission, the Secretary of State may make an order (a “reorganisation order”).
The Regulations make amendments to the arrangements for valuation tribunals in areas where local authorities are affected by structural changes made by reorganisation orders and which take effect from 1st April 1997. The Regulations amend the Valuation and Community Charges Tribunals Regulations 1989 (“the 1989 Regulations”) which established valuation tribunals.
Regulation 3 makes new provision for appointments to valuation tribunals in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, Hampshire (South), Leicestershire, East Sussex, Staffordshire and Wiltshire. It also amends regulation 6 of the 1989 Regulations in respect of termination of membership where the appointing body has ceased to exist.
Regulation 4 makes transitional provision for the filling of vacancies in the membership of the tribunals for those areas.
(1)
1988 c. 41.
(2)
1992 c. 19.
(3)
S.I. 1989/439, amended by S.I. 1991/1, S.I. 1993/292, S.I. 1995/363, S.I. 1995/624, S.I. 1995/3056 and S.I. 1996/43.
