Section 42A — Local Government Finance Act 1988: Rural settlement list.

Rural settlement list. 42A 1 Each billing authority in England shall compile and maintain, in accordance with section 42B below, a list (to be called its rural settlement list).

2 A rural settlement list shall have effect for each chargeable financial year and shall identify for each such year any settlements mentioned in subsection (3) below.

3 The settlements referred to in subsection (2) above are those which—

a are wholly or partly within the authority’s area, b appear to the authority to have had a population of not more than 3,000 on the last 31st December before the beginning of the chargeable financial year in question, and c in that financial year are wholly or partly within an area designated by the Secretary of State by order as a rural area for the purposes of this section.

4 A rural settlement list must identify the boundaries of each settlement (whether by defining the boundaries or referring to boundaries defined in a map or other document), but if a settlement is not wholly within the area of a billing authority the list need not identify the boundaries outside the authority’s area.

5 An order under subsection (3)(c) above may provide for designating as a rural area any area for the time being identified by any person, in any manner, specified in the order.

6 Subsection (1) above does not apply to a billing authority in respect of any chargeable financial year for which there are no such settlements as are mentioned in subsection (3) above (and, accordingly, if the authority has compiled a rural settlement list, it shall cease to maintain that list).