Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Community Charges (Information Concerning Social Security) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 and shall come into force on 1st April 1990.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc (Scotland) Act 1987;

“the 1986 Act” means the Social Security Act 1986(4);

“appropriate social security office” means an office of the Department of Social Security which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for income support and includes an office of the Department of Employment which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for unemployment benefit;

“community charge benefits” means benefits to which section 20(1)(d) of the 1986 Act(5) refers;

“income support” shall be construed in accordance with Part II of the 1986 Act;

“partner” means–

“registration officer” means a Community Charges Registration Officer within the meaning of section 12 of the Act;

and any reference to a section of the Act includes a reference to that section as read with paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to the Act and the Community Water Charges (Scotland) Regulations 1988.

Supply of relevant information to registration officers

3.—(1) For the purposes of section 20B of the Act (information concerning social security) it is prescribed that the Secretary of State may, notwithstanding any duty of confidentiality, supply relevant information (within the meaning of that section) to a registration officer.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of section 20B(2) of the Act (meaning of relevant information) there is prescribed information of the description set out in paragraph (3).

(3) The information to which paragraph (2) refers is information as to the name, address and date of birth of any person aged 18 or over and any partner aged 18 or over of that person, where that person is awarded income support but has not at the time of the award made a claim at the appropriate social security office–

(a)for community charge benefits, or

(b)where the claim for income support is made prior to 1st April 1990, for housing benefit in the form of a community charge rebate(7).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations which are made under section 20B of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc (Scotland) Act (as inserted by the Local Government Finance Act 1988, Schedule 12, paragraph 31) prescribe–

(a)that the Secretary of State may supply certain “relevant” information to registration officers; and

(b)the description of that information obtained by him under his functions under the Social Security Act 1986.

They replace the Community Charges (Information Concerning Social Security) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/1889 (S.177)), which have effect for the period from 23rd November 1988 to 31st March 1990.