Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 775

The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1993

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© Crown Copyright 1993

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1993 No. 775

COMMUNITY CHARGES, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1993

The Secretary of State for the Environment, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 143(1) and (2) and 146(6) of, and paragraphs 1, 4, 5(2) and (4), 7(2)(b) and (3A)(b), 12, 26 and 28 of Schedule 4 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988^[1], and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement, and interpretation
    1.—(1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 and shall come into force on 1st April 1993.

    (2)  In these Regulations "the principal Regulations" means the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989^[2]; and, unless the context otherwise requires, expressions used in these Regulations which are also used in Part IV (enforcement) of the principal Regulations have the same meaning as in those Regulations.

Amendment of the principal Regulations
    2.    The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of these Regulations.

Definitions
    3.    In regulation 27 and, accordingly, in that regulation as set out in Form D in Schedule 3—
 (a) in the definition in paragraph (1) of "net earnings" after the words "other benefits", there is inserted the following—
"; and, where an order under regulation 37 (making of attachment of earnings order) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 made before the making of the attachment of earnings order concerned remains in force,
(d) any amount required to be deducted in accordance with that order" ; and

^[3]
 (b) after the definition of "earnings" there is inserted the following definition—
""the Income Support Regulations" means the Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (No. 2) Regulations 1990," .

^[4]

Duties of debtors subject to liability order
    4.    In regulation 31, after the words "this Part" in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (3) there are inserted the words ", regulation 36 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992".

Priority between attachment of earnings orders
    5.—(1)  In regulation 37—
 (a) in paragraph (1), for the word "Where" there are substituted the words "Subject to paragraph (3), where"; and
 (b) after paragraph (2) there is inserted the following—
"  (3)  This regulation does not apply in a case to which regulation 37A applies." .


    (2)  After regulation 37 and, accordingly, after that regulation as set out in Form D in Schedule 3, there is inserted the following—

"Priority as between orders made after 31st March 1993
    37A.—(1)  This regulation applies in the case of attachment of earnings orders made after 31st March 1993.

    (2)  Where an employer would, but for this paragraph, be obliged to make deductions on any pay-day under two or more attachment of earnings orders to which this regulation applies, he shall—
(a) deal with the orders according to the respective dates on which they were made, disregarding any later order until an earlier one has been dealt with; and

(b) deal with any later order as if the earnings to which it relates were the residue of the debtor's earnings after the making of any deduction to comply with any earlier order.


    (3)  Subject to paragraph (4), where an employer would, but for this paragraph, be obliged to comply with one or more attachment of earnings order to which this regulation applies and with one or more deduction order, he shall deal with the orders according to the respective dates on which they were made in like manner as under paragraph (2).

    (4)  An employer shall not deal with a deduction order made either wholly or in part in respect of the payment of a judgment debt or payments under an administration order until he has dealt with the attachment of earnings order or orders and any other deduction order.

    (5)  In this regulation "deduction order" means an order under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 made on or after 1st April 1993." .


^[5]

Distress
    6.    In regulation 39, after paragraph (1), there is inserted the following paragraph—
"  (1A)  Without prejudice to paragraph (8) below, no person making a distress shall seize any goods of the debtor of any of the following descriptions—
(a) such tools, books, vehicles and other items of equipment as are necessary to the debtor for use personally by him in his employment, business or vocation;

(b) such clothing, bedding, furniture, household equipment and provisions as are necessary for satisfying the basic domestic needs of the debtor and his family." .

Relationship between remedies
    7.    In regulation 46—
 (a) in paragraph (1), after the words "designated dwelling" there are inserted the words ", or under the Income Support Regulations";
 (b) in paragraph (2)^[6], for the words after "may not be taken" there are substituted the words—
"in relation to a person against whom a liability order has been made while—
(a) steps by way of another of those methods are being taken against him under it; or

(b) deductions are being made under the Income Support Regulations from any amount payable to him by way of income support; or

(c) an application under regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations has been made in respect of him to the Secretary of State and remains undetermined." ;

 (c) after paragraph (2), there is inserted the following paragraph—
"  (2A)  An application under regulation 2(1) of the Income Support Regulations may not be made in respect of a person against whom a liability order has been made while steps under this Part are being taken against him for the recovery of an amount equal to any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made." .

Joint and several liability
    8.    In regulation 48—
 (a) after paragraph (8) there is inserted the following paragraph—
"  (8A)  Where a liability order has been made against a chargeable person and a spouse of his, and a warrant of commitment is issued against (or a term of imprisonment is fixed in the case of) one of them under regulation 41(3), no steps, or further steps, may be taken under the Income Support Regulations in respect of either of them in relation to the amount mentioned in regulation 41(4)." ; and

 (b) for paragraph (11) there is substituted the following paragraph—
"  (11)  Where—
(a) a liability order has been made against a chargeable person and a spouse or manager in respect of an amount; and

(b) a charge has arisen as regards one of them under head B of the Table in paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 in respect of that amount,

no further charge may be aggregated for the purposes of regulation 39(2) under that head or head A of that Table in consequence of any subsequent levy or attempted levy against either in respect of that amount; and a charge under head A(i) or charges under that head and head A(ii) against one of them shall be treated for those purposes as a charge or, as the case may be, charges under that head with respect to the other as well as that one." .

Prescribed form of attachment of earnings order
    9.    In Form D in Schedule 3^[7]—
 (a) in the second paragraph, for the words "regulations 34 to 37" there are substituted the words "regulations 34 to 37A"; and
 (b) in the heading to the regulations set out at the end of the Order, for the words "33 TO 37" there are substituted the words "33 TO 37A".

Charges relating to distress
    10.    The Schedule set out in the Schedule hereto is substituted for Schedule 5.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for the Environment

John Redwood

Minister of State, Department of the Environment

16th March 1993

David Hunt

Secretary of State for Wales

17th March 1993

[1] 1988 c. 41. Paragraph (ee) was inserted in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 4 by regulation 60(2) of S.I. 1989/438. Paragraph 4 of Schedule 4 was amended by paragraph 13(3) of Schedule 5 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42). Paragraph 7(3A) was inserted by section 102(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14). back

[2] S.I. 1989/438; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1989/2274 and 1992/219. back

[3] S.I. 1992/613, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations. back

[4] S.I. 1990/545. back

[5] 1971 c. 32. back

[6] Paragraph (2) of regulation 46 was amended by S.I. 1989/2274. back

[7] Form D was inserted by S.I. 1992/219, regulation 6(2). back

Explanatory Note