Commentary on Sections Part 3 – Repeals of Welsh Legislation Part 19 – Local Government Finance
212.Part 2 of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024 (‘the 2024 Act’) makes amendments to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (‘the 1992 Act’) in relation to council tax.
213.As originally introduced into the Senedd the Bill (which became the 2024 Act) sought, at draft section 20, to change the arrangements in sections 12A, 12B and 38 of the 1992 Act for the publication of notices by council tax billing authorities. The 1992 Act requires billing authorities to publish notices relating to council tax levels or council tax premiums in newspapers. Section 20 of the Bill proposed replacing those requirements with a requirement to publish the same information electronically and make suitable alternative arrangements for access by individuals who are unable to access information online.
214.The Senedd did not agree with draft section 20, and at Stage 3 proceedings, voted to remove that draft section from the Bill.
215.Draft section 16 of the Bill provided an overview of Part 2, and at subsection (8) included an overview of draft section 20. When the Senedd omitted draft section 20 a consequential amendment to remove draft section 16(8) was not made. As such section 16(8) in the 2024 Act continues to refer to a provision not in the Act and amendments being made to the 1992 Act. This is unnecessary and does not benefit the reader of the 2024 Act or, more widely, support clarity of the law.
216.Paragraph 61 of this Schedule to the Act now omits section 16(8) of the 2024 Act and renumbers subsection (9) as subsection (8) to further avoid confusion for a reader of the 2024 Act.