HC Deb 02 December 1981 vol 14 cc226-7
8. Mr. Dykes

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions he has reached in seeking a revised formula for control of local authority rate fixing procedures.

9. Mr. Hal Miller

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what alternatives have been put forward to his proposed referendum on supplementary rates; and if he considers any of these to be a practical means of limiting the increase in the burden of the rates.

10. Mr. Stephen Ross

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the opposition expressed to the proposals contained in the Local Government Finance Bill, he will now withdraw the Bill.

Mr. King

We are still considering possible alternative approaches in this matter, in accordance with the undertaking that my right hon. Friend and I gave to the House on 12 November. We shall inform the House as soon as possible as to how we intend to proceed.

Mr. Dykes

To which options does my right hon. Friend refer?

Mr. King

My right hon. Friend gave an adequate answer to that question earlier.

Mr. Miller

Will my right hon. Friend say whether the referendum proposal has been dropped or is merely being kept in reserve in case any of the alternatives prove equally unacceptable? Will he bear in mind the need to give reassurance to industry and business that some action will be taken to limit the burden of rates?

Mr. King

I understand my hon. Friend's concern. I know that the sentiments that he expresses are echoed widely around the country, particularly in industry and commerce, which have been hard hit by the supplementary rates imposed by a number of new Labour authorities. With regard to the first part of my hon. Friend's question, we shall inform the House as soon as possible.

Mr. Ross

Is it not a fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement this afternoon will increase rates willy-nilly? Will the Minister take some responsibility for that when he talks to industry? Is it not a fact that part I of the Bill is a dead duck, that part III is unnecessary, and that the whole thing should be withdrawn? Both he and the Secretary of State should now put their trust in the local authorities and not continue the totally unnecessary war.

Mr. King

The hon. Gentleman is trying to make me trespass on a subject that I have made clear I will not comment on, and has invited me to comment on another subject that I am unable to comment on—the substance of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement. If he is patient, he will find that some of the comments that he made are not entirely justified.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

Will my right hon. Friend accept that many of his hon. Friends would prefer a thoroughgoing reform of the rating system to any of the interim measures contemplated in the Bill?

Mr. King

I well understand that view. My hon. Friend will recognise that a major reform that will require legislation will take time to enact and will involve an interim period. The Government must reach a judgment about the best forms for those interim measures. I hope that the House will support the Government in that.

Mr. Douglas-Mann

Is it not a fact that part of the problem for the Government is that every solution that they have tackled has not worked out politically satisfactorily? Can the Minister confirm or deny the report in today's Financial Times that the Government have had to abandon a key part of their housing subsidy strategy—for example, the development of local government finance—because a large number of Tory authorities, including the authority in the area represented by his hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction, would have been heavily penalised as a consequence?

Mr. King

No, Sir.