Rates (Hansard, 20 April 1988)

§ 13. Mr. John Marshall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the level of increase in rates in 1988–89.

§ Mr. Chope
Domestic rates in England have gone up by an average of nearly 9 per cent., which is far too high. It should have been possible, on average, for rate rises to be held to inflation, and against this background the outturn is very disappointing.

§ Mr. Marshall
Will my hon. Friend tell the House how the level of rates in Conservative-controlled councils compares with the level of rates in Labour-controlled councils? Does he agree that the great difference between those two levels explains the opposition of Opposition Members to the community charge?

§ Mr. Chope
I am delighted to have the opportunity to explain to my hon. Friend the difference between Conservative and Labour councils. Conservative councils have much lower rate poundages than Labour councils. The hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) earlier quoted percentage increases. After those percentage increases, in Melton, for example, there is only a 5.8p local rate and in Gillingham only a 7p local rate, whereas in Harlow, a district council controlled by the Labour party, there is 92.9p local rate. There are almost invariably higher levels of rates in those areas controlled by the Labour party.

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
Will the Minister come clean about the Tory record on rates? In Labour-run counties in England, Labour has had an average of 12.4 per cent. rate income, Conservative-run counties have had an average of 10.3 per cent. and councils run by my party have had an average of 9.7 per cent.—in each case in councils controlled by a majority, single-party administration. Why is his party not at the bottom of any league table of rate rises in the counties of England this year?

§ Mr. Chope
The Owenites do not feature on this list—

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
Because they do not control any councils.

§ Mr. Chope
Exactly. The average rate poundage in the counties is 223p in the pound. The three highest county poundages are in Derbyshire, Cleveland and Humberside, all of which are in excess of 250p in the pound. The lowest rate poundages in the counties are under the Conservative-controlled councils of Hereford and Worcestershire, Norfolk, Kent and West Sussex. In all those counties the rate poundages are less than 200p.

§ Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman
Is my hon. Friend aware that the Labour group on Lancashire county council increased rates by no less than 36.5, an increase of 18.5 per cent., which is one of the highest rises in the country? It started from a high base, having already increased rates by over 85 per cent. since it took control. Does my hon. Friend appreciate that that places a tremendous burden on the National Health Service, industry and every citizen?

§ Mr. Chope
I agree with my hon. Friend wholeheartedly. Lancashire council is one of the worst examples of Labour profligacy in practice and I am delighted that she has been able to draw the attention of the House to it. Opposition Members are hard put to explain away the high levels of rates in Labour-controlled areas.

§ Mr. Rooker
If 9 per cent. is too high, why is it that in Tory-controlled Wandsworth the rate is 31 per cent.? Why is it 15.6 per cent. in the London borough of Barnet, where the Hendon, South constituency is situated? That is the Prime Minister's local authority and it is on record as being against the poll tax. What is more, it has accused the Secretary of State of cheating over storm damage. Why have we not heard about the London borough of Barnet, which has twice the average level of rate increases among councils under Tory control?

§ Mr. Chope
To take individual percentage rate increases—[Interruption.] It is much easier for someone who weighs 20 stone to lose 25 per cent. of that weight than for somebody who weighs only 10 stone. The same is—[Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. This is difficult enough to understand as it is.

§ Mr. Chope
To take the areas to which the hon. Gentleman referred, in inner London it is still true to say that the two lowest levels of rate poundage are in Kensington and Chelsea and in Wandsworth. In Wandsworth the local rate is now 36.1 p in the pound, in Hammersmith it is 133p, in Hackney it is 134p and in Greenwich it is 136p. The same is true in outer London, where Barnet council, despite a high percentage increase, still has a much lower rate poundage than most Labour-controlled outer London boroughs.