Rates (Hansard, 5 July 1974)

§ Mr. Cormack

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I wish to present a petition signed by about 7,820 of my constituents, all of them being ratepayers within the South West Staffordshire district. That number represents more than 25 per cent. of ratepayers there. The signatures have been collected in a very short space of time and by a very small group, and the response has been almost 100 per cent.

The petition sheweth That the recent increase in the rates of this district constitutes an oppressive burden upon domestic ratepayers. Wherefore your petitioners pray That this honourable House give immediate consideration to the consequences of the late redistribution of the rate support grant insofar as it discriminated against this and other rural areas and further urge That our current financial difficulties most strongly underline the need for an early and thorough reform of the rating system to reflect more equitably the needs and circumstances of local residents. Your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.