HC Deb 28 April 1993 vol 223 cc956-8
13. Lady Olga Maitland

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the 10 local authorities with the highest level of council tax.

Mr. Redwood

The 10 local authorities in England with the highest average headline council taxes are as follows. I give the band C values, but at all levels they are the highest. Harlow—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour"]—£878; Newcastle upon Tyne—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]— £704; Greenwich—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£696; Manchester—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£656; Haringey—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£646; Liverpool —[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£645; Camden—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£638; North Tyneside—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£628; Salford—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£628; and Derwentside—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—£626.

Lady Olga Maitland

I thank my hon. Friend for that revealing answer. Will he be kind enough to name the 10 local authorities having the lowest levels of council tax?

Mr. Redwood

Without prior notice, that could be difficult, but I have a list that I prepared earlier for my hon. Friend. There is Wellingborough—[HON. MEMBERS: "Conservative."]—there is.—

Madam Speaker

Order. I am looking at the clock. We must speed up.

Mr. Redwood

There are also Westminster, Isles of Scilly, City of London. Hambleton, Hinckley and Bosworth, Huntingdon, Basingstoke and Deane, South Cambridgeshire and Fareham.

Mr. Straw

Is the Minister aware that according to his own Department's figures for average household bills, there are twice as many Tory councils as Labour councils in the 50 most expensive areas and that among the 50 least expensive areas for average bills there are twice as many Labour as Tory councils, including Southampton—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Lincoln—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Stoke-on-Trent —[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Corby—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Great Yarmouth—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Bradford—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Plymouth—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—York—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—Slough—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—and Norwich—[HON. MEMBERS: "Labour."]—all with bills way below the average Tory bill of £465. It is Labour which serves us better and costs us less.

Mr. Redwood

In any band that we care to choose, Labour costs us more and Conservatives cost us less. The hon. Gentleman has not understood that point, after a long session today, but we are going to go on saying it all the way up to 6 May, because it is the truth and the voters will respond.