To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued on the designation of billing authorities in areas with two executive tiers of local government. (251986)

Section 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 defines a billing authority as a district or London borough council, the Common Council or the Council of the Isles of Scilly. That definition is expanded by section 19 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and regulation 7 of the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3022) (“the Finance Regulations”) to include county councils to which the functions of district councils have been transferred. The Regulations also provide that, in the period to 1 April 2009, for those two tier areas undergoing restructuring on that date, the preparing or shadow council (i.e. the council responsible for implementing restructuring) will be the billing authority for the reorganised area in relation to 2009-10.