HC Deb 20 July 1988 vol 137 cc1083-4
2. Ms. Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent estimate he has made of the number of people liable to pay the poll tax in Lewisham.

The Minister for Local Government (Mr. Michael Howard)

Almost all of Lewisham's adult population of 179,000 will be subject to the personal community charge.

Ms. Ruddock

Is the Minister aware that in my constituency many households consist of three or more adults? Does he acknowledge that 99 per cent. of those households will be losers, even with the safety net masking the real effects of the poll tax, and that 74 per cent. of all the population of Lewisham will be losers? Will he take this opportunity today to show generosity of spirit for a change and reassure the 11,000 people with disabilities in Lewisham that he will accept the Lords amendments and give rebates of 100 per cent. to them?

Mr. Howard

I do not accept the figures given by the hon. Lady. They seem wholly to ignore the effect of rebates. It is through rebates that those who suffer from disability can best have their needs recognised in relation to their liability to the community charge.

Mr. Maples

Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that what will most concern those 179,000 people will be the amount of the community charge in Lewisham when the safety net goes? Is he aware that one further year of rate capping has reduced that notional figure from £675 to £575? Does he agree that Lewisham council could easily find savings over the next five years to cut that by another £300, so that when the safety net goes the charge would be about £250?

Mr. Howard

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If Lewisham and the ILEA spent what they should be spending to cater for the needs of their residents, the community charge in Lewisham would be £202 on the current year's figures, as it would be in every other local authority in the country.

Dr. Cunningham

Does the Minister accept the figures published by his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently, which show that the average domestic rates bill per household or family in Lewisham is £575 per annum and that the poll tax for Lewisham is £577 per person? There can be no better exemplification of what a rotten deal for Lewisham the poll tax is.

Mr. Howard

The figure for Lewisham, with the safety net, is £320. The purpose of the safety net is to allow authorities, such as Lewisham, time to bring their spending down from the unjustifiable levels at which they presently spend.