Northern Ireland (Regional Rates and Energy) Act 2019

Overview of the Act

Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.

The Act deals with matters arising from the continued absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and a sitting Assembly following the Assembly election on 2 March 2017. The Act: sets the amounts of the regional domestic and non-domestic rates for the assessment of rates and the billing of ratepayers in Northern Ireland for the financial year ending on 31 March 2020; implements a long-term tariff structure for the Northern Ireland Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme to replace the current interim arrangements for small and medium biomass installations introduced on 1 April 2018; and introduces a power to prepare and publish voluntary "buy-out" arrangements, in each of three consecutive financial years, beginning with 1 April 2019, under which participants can apply to receive a one-off payment in respect of an accredited RHI installation, upon receipt of which they are withdrawn from the Scheme, receiving no further periodic support payments. The voluntary buy-out provision is limited to a three year period after the Act is introduced and the power to establish arrangements in respect of a particular financial year may only be exercised by the Department in the current period while there is no Executive.