Pay the 2022 £150 to Council Tax Reduction recipients in any band in Scotland and Wales

changelog.d/2766.fixed.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Pay the 2022 £150 to Council Tax Reduction recipients in any council tax band in Scotland and Wales, as Scottish and Welsh councils did.

docs/book/programs/gov/treasury/cost-of-living-payments.md

@@ -16,12 +16,21 @@ spike in domestic energy prices. Two strands:
   England, a one-off in 2022-23. Households qualified on their band on 1
   April 2022. The guidance asked billing authorities to pay from April and
   set 30 September 2022 as the deadline for the payments the government
-  would reconcile (paragraph 7). Scotland and Wales paid their own £150
-  awards to bands A–D, and also to Council Tax Reduction recipients in any
-  band, which the model leaves out. Northern Ireland levies domestic rates,
-  not council tax, and had no Council Tax Rebate, so the model pays none
-  there whatever the household's council tax band (the enhanced FRS gives
-  every Northern Ireland household band A, the default policyengine-uk-data
+  would reconcile (paragraph 7). Scottish councils paid the Cost of Living
+  Award and Welsh councils the Cost of Living Support Scheme, £150 each, to
+  bands A–D and to Council Tax Reduction recipients in any band. Scottish
+  councils tested receipt on 14 February 2022 and Welsh councils on 15
+  February 2022. The model reads `council_tax_reduction` for the whole year.
+  Councils in all three nations also paid band E homes they charged at band
+  D under the disabled band reduction. The model has no input for that
+  reduction. In Scotland and Wales it pays those homes only when they also
+  receive Council Tax Reduction; in England it never pays them. The model
+  doesn't simulate Scotland's separate Council Tax Reduction for bands E to
+  H (regulation 14A; SSI 2016/253), so a Scottish household on that alone
+  misses the payment. Northern Ireland levies domestic rates, not
+  council tax, and had no Council Tax Rebate, so the model pays none there
+  whatever the household's council tax band (the enhanced FRS gives every
+  Northern Ireland household band A, the default policyengine-uk-data
   assigns when the FRS records no band).
 - **Energy Bills Support Scheme**, a £400 discount on domestic electricity
   bills in Great Britain, paid in six monthly instalments from October 2022
@@ -48,6 +57,9 @@ PolicyEngine models these via:
   - `energy_bills_credit.yaml` — a yearly top-up, zero by default, kept for
     reforms
   - `council_tax_rebate/bands.yaml` — qualifying CT bands (A–D)
+  - `council_tax_rebate/council_tax_reduction_countries.yaml` — countries
+    whose councils also paid Council Tax Reduction recipients in any band
+    (Scotland and Wales)
   - `council_tax_rebate/amount.yaml` — £150 in 2022-23 and nothing in any
     other year
 
@@ -143,5 +155,8 @@ will collect all three payments. This matches the actual policy.
 - [HMT/DWP, May 2022 cost-of-living support package announcement](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-most-vulnerable-households-will-receive-1200-of-help-with-cost-of-living)
 - DWP, [Cost-of-Living Payments 2023-24 guidance](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payments-2023-to-2024) (means-tested, pensioner and disability strands).
 - HMT, [Energy Bills Support Scheme](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-energy-bills-support-scheme-explainer) and [Council Tax Energy Rebate](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-council-tax-rebate-2022-23-billing-authority-guidance).
+- Scottish Government, [Local Government Finance Circular 2/2022](https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-government-finance-circular-2-2022-guidance-to-local-authorities-april-2022-cost-of-living-award/) (Cost of Living Award).
+- Welsh Government, [Cost of Living Support Scheme guide for local authorities](https://www.gov.wales/cost-living-support-scheme-guide-local-authorities-html).
+- [The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2016](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/253/made) (Council Tax Reduction for bands E to H).
 - DWP, [HBAI quality and methodology information report, FYE 2023](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023) (treatment of the cost-of-living support schemes in HBAI income).
 - House of Commons Library briefing [CBP-9501 — Cost of Living Payments and the energy crisis](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9501/).

policyengine_uk/parameters/gov/treasury/energy_bills_rebate/council_tax_rebate/council_tax_reduction_countries.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+description: Countries whose councils paid the 2022 £150 to Council Tax Reduction recipients in any council tax band. Scottish councils paid the Cost of Living Award and Welsh councils the Cost of Living Support Scheme to them, while English billing authorities paid by band alone.
+values:
+  0001-01-01:
+    value:
+      - SCOTLAND
+      - WALES
+    reference:
+      - title: Local Government Finance Circular 2/2022, paragraphs 6 and 10
+        href: https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-government-finance-circular-2-2022-guidance-to-local-authorities-april-2022-cost-of-living-award/
+      - title: Cost of Living Support Scheme guide for local authorities, condition A
+        href: https://www.gov.wales/cost-living-support-scheme-guide-local-authorities-html
+metadata:
+  unit: list
+  label: Countries paying Council Tax Reduction recipients in any band

policyengine_uk/programs.yaml

@@ -613,13 +613,17 @@ programs:
     verified_start_year: 2022
     verified_end_year: 2023
     notes: >-
-      Temporary program, ended 2023. The £150 Council Tax Rebate in bands A to
-      D in Great Britain (none in Northern Ireland, which has domestic rates),
-      the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, and Northern Ireland's £200
-      Alternative Fuel Payment. Leaves out the Scottish and Welsh £150 for
-      Council Tax Reduction recipients in bands E and above, England's
-      discretionary fund, Great Britain's Alternative Fuel Payment and the
-      alternative funding schemes.
+      Temporary program, ended 2023. The model pays the £150 Council Tax Rebate
+      in bands A to D in Great Britain and to Council Tax Reduction recipients
+      in any band in Scotland and Wales (none in Northern Ireland, which has
+      domestic rates), the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, and Northern
+      Ireland's £200 Alternative Fuel Payment. It has no input for the
+      disabled band reduction, so it pays band E homes that councils charged
+      at band D only when they also receive Council Tax Reduction in Scotland
+      and Wales, and never in England. It leaves out Scotland's Council Tax
+      Reduction for bands E to H, Scotland's rules for exempt dwellings,
+      England's discretionary fund, Great Britain's Alternative Fuel Payment
+      and the alternative funding schemes.
 
   - id: household_energy_payment
     name: Household Energy Payment