HC Deb 19 March 1986 vol 94 c289
17. Mr. Peter Bruinvels

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the Rate Limitation (Prescribed Maximum) (Rates) Order 1986, to include the city of Leicester district council; and if he will make a statement.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mrs. Angela Rumbold)

While I understand my hon. Friend's views about the appalling rate increase being proposed by Leicester city council, that council did not meet the criteria for selection for rate limitation in 1986–87 and could not therefore be included in the order recently approved by the House.

Mr. Bruinvels

Will my hon. Friend accept that I feel great and personal disappointment at that most unsatisfactory answer? Will she also accept that the citizens of Leicester consider it outrageous for the city council to bring in an 80 per cent. rate rise, which is 45.5p in the pound? Will she further accept that the money that the city council is spending is excessive—more than £150,000 on public relations, £13,500 on renaming Nelson Mandela park and £7,000 on twinning with Nicaragua? Does she realise that the people in Leicester want to get on with living a decent life, but that the Labour party is doing everything in its power to cripple industry, levy very high rates on all businesses and put on individual ratepayers an addition of more than £30 each year?

Mrs. Rumbold

I am sure that the House appreciates the outrage and indignation of my hon. Friend. Unfortunately for the ratepayers of Leicester, they are not within the selection criteria for this year, but I remind him that Leicester was rate-capped last year and the ratepayers then benefited considerably from this system.

Mr. Janner

Is the Minister not aware that it was the rate-capping of Leicester last year that directly resulted in the likely increase in rates, and that the Leicester city council is doing a first-class job, in spite of the Government's attacks and in the teeth of the voluble, obsessive and despicable attacks by the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Bruinvels)?

Mrs. Rumbold

I have been interested to hear the other side of the case for Leicester, but I do not agree with the hon. and learned Gentleman, because if Leicester increased its spending by no more than the rate of inflation it would get 33 per cent. more grant this year, and that would be extremely generous. But, like most other councils, the more Leicester increases its spending, the less grant it will receive.