
1 
This Order may be cited as the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings and Discount Disregards) (Amendment) Order 1998 and shall come into force on 1st April 1998.
2 
For article 2(5) of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (which defines the classes of relative who may be dependent for the purposes of Class W of exempt dwellings) there is substituted—“
(5) For the purposes of Class W a person is to be regarded as the relative of another if—
(a) he is the spouse of that person, or
(b) he is that person’s parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, great-uncle, great-aunt, great-nephew or great-niece, or
(c) he is that person’s great-great-grandparent, great-great-grandchild, great-great-uncle, great-great-aunt, great-great-nephew or great-great-niece;
and—
(i) a relationship by marriage shall be treated as a relationship by blood;
(ii) a relationship between a man and a woman living together as husband and wife shall be treated as a relationship by marriage; and
(iii) the stepchild of a person shall be treated as his child.”
3 
In paragraph 1(c)(ii) (maximum salary etc.) of Schedule 1 (definition of students etc.) to the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992, for “£130 per week” there is substituted “£160 per week”.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State
Hilary Armstrong
Minister of State
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
11th February 1998Win Griffiths
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Welsh Office
11th February 1998