Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Non-Domestic Rating (Northern Line Extension) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 18th March 2015.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations-

"the 1988 Act" means the Local Government Finance Act 1988;

"the Agreement" means the agreement entitled the "Standby Refinancing Facility Agreement in respect of the Northern Line Extension to Battersea Power Station" between the Treasury and the Greater London Authority dated 30th January 2014 as amended and restated by deed executed on 1st September 2014(2);

"designated area" means an area designated by regulation 3 and Schedule 1;

"local list" means a list compiled and maintained in accordance with section 41 of the 1988 Act(3) (local rating lists);

"non-domestic rating income" has the meaning given by Schedule 2;

"preceding year" means the year immediately preceding the year for which a calculation under these Regulations is being made;

"relevant billing authority" means a billing authority in England all or part of whose area falls within a designated area;

"small business non-domestic rating multiplier", in relation to a year, means the small business non-domestic rating multiplier for the year determined under Part 1 of Schedule 7 to the 1988 Act(4) (non-domestic rating multipliers); and

"specified year" means a year falling within the period specified in regulation 4 or 5(1).

Designation of areas

3.  The areas referred to in Schedule 1 are designated for the purposes of these Regulations.

Period of designation

4.  The designations made by regulation 3 and Schedule 1 take effect on 1st April 2016 and remain in effect for a period of 25 years beginning with that date.

Additional period of designation

5.-(1) The designations made by regulation 3 and Schedule 1 take effect on the first day of the first year(5) after the conditions in paragraph (2) are met and remain in effect for a period of five years beginning with that date.

(2) The conditions are that-

(a)1st January 2041 has elapsed;

(b)a Permanent Shortfall, as agreed between the Greater London Authority and the Treasury in accordance with the Agreement, exists in relation to the NLE Loans incurred by the Greater London Authority for the purposes of financing the design, construction and commissioning of the extension to the Northern Line from Kennington to Battersea power station;

(c)the Treasury has made the first Advance to the Greater London Authority pursuant to the Agreement; and

(d)the Greater London Authority has made an application in writing to the Treasury for the purposes of this regulation pursuant to clause 4.3 of the Agreement.

(3) These Regulations will cease to have effect at the end of the period mentioned in regulation 4 if all of the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are not met by the end of that period.

(4) "Permanent Shortfall", "NLE Loans" and "Advance" each have the meaning given in the Agreement.

Calculation of the proportion of non-domestic rating income to be disregarded

6.-(1) Schedule 2 contains rules for the calculation, in relation to each relevant billing authority and for each specified year, of a proportion of the authority's non-domestic rating income in respect of the designated area or areas within which all or part of the authority's area falls.

(2) The amount calculated in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 2 in relation to a relevant billing authority for a specified year in respect of a designated area is to be disregarded for the purposes of the calculations under the following provisions of Schedule 7B to the 1988 Act as those provisions apply to the authority for the year-

(a)paragraph 6 (payments in respect of the central share);

(b)regulations under paragraph 7 (administrative arrangements for payments in respect of the central share);

(c)regulations under paragraph 9 (payments by billing authorities to major precepting authorities);

(d)regulations under paragraph 10 (administrative arrangements for payments by billing authorities to major precepting authorities);

(e)paragraph 13 (calculations following local government finance report);

(f)paragraph 16 (calculations following amending report);

(g)paragraph 23 (calculations of levy payments);

(h)paragraph 26 (calculations of safety net payments);

(i)regulations under paragraph 28 (calculations of payments on account);

(j)paragraph 30 (calculations relating to distribution of remaining balance).

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE 1Local retention of non-domestic rates: designation of areas

1.  Each of the areas listed in column 1 of the table in this Schedule is designated by reference to the area or areas bounded externally by the outer edge of the blue line shown on the map or maps specified in column 2 of the table.

2.  A reference in this Schedule to a map is to one of the maps numbered 1 and 2 and entitled "Maps referred to in Schedule 1 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Northern Line Extension) Regulations 2015", of which prints, signed by a member of the Senior Civil Service in the Department for Communities and Local Government, are deposited and available for inspection at the offices of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and, in relation to each map, at the offices of the relevant billing authority to which the map relates.

3.  For the purposes of determining a designated area, where part only of a hereditament is situated within an area shown on a map, the whole of the hereditament is to be taken to be included within that designated area.

Regulation 6

SCHEDULE 2Rules for calculation of the amount to be disregarded

PART 1Calculation of the proportion of non-domestic rating income to be disregarded for the purpose of calculations under Schedule 7B to the 1988 Act

1.-(1) For the purposes of regulation 6, but subject to sub-paragraph (2), the proportion of a relevant billing authority's non-domestic rating income for a specified year in respect of a designated area within which all or part of the authority's area falls is the difference between-

(a)the amount of the authority's non-domestic rating income for that year in respect of that area calculated in accordance with Part 2; and

(b)the amount calculated in relation to the authority for that year in respect of that area in accordance with Part 3.

(2) Where the amount calculated in accordance with Part 3 is greater than or equal to the amount calculated in accordance with Part 2, the proportion for the purposes of regulation 6 is zero.

PART 2Calculation of non-domestic rating income

2.-(1) A relevant billing authority's non-domestic rating income in respect of a designated area for a specified year is the amount calculated in accordance with the formula-

(2) This sub-paragraph applies to a hereditament which-

(a)is to be treated as one hereditament by virtue of regulations under section 64(3)(b) of the 1988 Act (regulations about hereditaments); and

(b)would have constituted three or more separate hereditaments had regulations under section 64(3)(b) not been made.

(3) In this paragraph, references to an authority's collection fund income and expenditure account is a reference to a revenue account to which, in accordance with proper practices, are credited or charged amounts in respect of the authority's income or expenditure relating to sums paid or to be paid into or payments met or to be met from the authority's collection fund.

PART 3Calculation of the amount deducted from non-domestic rating income

3.-(1) If the specified year is not a year in which local lists must be compiled, the amount to be calculated for the purposes of paragraph 1(1)(b) in relation to the authority for the year in respect of the area is that described in sub-paragraph (2) or (3) (as the case may be).

(2) For the year beginning on 1st April 2016, that amount is calculated in accordance with the formula-

(3) For a subsequent specified year which is not a year in which local lists must be compiled, that amount is calculated in accordance with the formula-

4.-(1) If the specified year is a year in which local lists must be compiled ("the revaluation year"), the amount to be calculated for the purposes of paragraph 1(1)(b) in relation to the authority for the year in respect of the area is that described in sub-paragraph (2).

(2) That amount is the amount calculated in accordance with the formula-

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, the rateable value of a hereditament shown in the relevant billing authority's local list for 31st March in the preceding year is to be taken to be the rateable value that would have been shown in that list for that day had the circumstances relating to that hereditament been as they were on 1st April in the revaluation year.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The purpose of these Regulations is to designate specific areas within which a proportion of the non-domestic rating income is to be calculated in accordance with the Regulations. Such proportions are to be disregarded by each billing authority all or part of whose area falls within the designated area for the purpose of particular calculations made under Schedule 7B to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 ("the 1988 Act") (local retention of non-domestic rates).

Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 designate the areas in relation to which a proportion of the non-domestic rating income is to be disregarded from certain calculations. The designations are made by reference to maps which are available for inspection at the office of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF) or the office of the billing authority in whose area the designated area falls. The areas designated by these Regulations are part of the London boroughs of Lambeth (Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1RW) and Wandsworth (Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU) linked to the financing of the construction costs of the proposed extension of the Northern Line underground rail service to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.

Regulation 4 specifies that the designations take effect on the 1st April 2016 and have effect for a period of 25 years. The effect of specifying the years is to trigger paragraph 39(9) of Schedule 7B to the 1988 Act, which restricts the type of amendments that may be made to the Regulations and prevents the revocation of the Regulations until after the end of the 25 year period.

Regulation 5 specifies that a new designation will take effect in the event that certain conditions are met. The Standby Refinancing Facility Agreement by reference to which those conditions are specified is available for inspection at the office of the Treasury (1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ). Where the conditions are met the designation will have effect for a period of five years. Where the conditions are not met the Regulations will cease to have effect at the end of the specified period.

Regulation 6 and Schedule 2 provide for the calculation of the proportion of non-domestic rating income that is to be disregarded. The starting point is the definition of non-domestic rating income which is essentially the amounts payable to the authority under sections 43 and 45 of the 1988 Act in respect of hereditaments situated in the designated area, subject to a number of adjustments. The non-domestic rating income is then compared to a baseline figure representing existing non-domestic rating income in the area, which is to be uplifted each year, to produce an amount representing growth in income in the area. The calculation is to be made separately for each billing authority in respect of each of its designated areas.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because it amends an existing local tax regime. Publication of a full impact assessment is not necessary for such legislation.