HC Deb 04 March 1977 vol 927 cc341-2W
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what level dog licences would have to be raised on 29th March 1977 for them to be equal in real value to the value they had when they were first introduced.

Mr. Denis Howell

The current dog licence fee of 37½ pence was fixed in 1878 and its purchasing power then is estimated to have been equivalent to that of at least £4.35 now.

Mr. Andrew F. Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the expected revenue from dog licences for 1976–77; what it was for the previous two years; and what was the cost of collecting revenue in each of those years.

Mr. Denis Howell

Revenue from dog licences in 1974–75 and 1975–76 was £979,140 and £998,493 respectively. Revenue in 1976–77 is also expected to be about £1 million. Cost of collecting the revenue was £620,506 in 1974–75 and is estimated to be about £740,000 in 1975–76. Figures for 1976–77 are not yet available.