§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his latest estimates of the changes which will be required in numbers of staff employed by local authorities to deal with domestic rate collection on the implementation of the Local Government Finance Bill.
§ Mr. HowardIt is for local authorities to estimate the number of staff they will need. Staffing will be one of the issues addressed in the Price Waterhouse study on implementation of the community charge . We expect to receive this report shortly.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation specifically to prohibit any information collected for police purposes being disclosed to a community charge officer; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) on 5 May, at column569.
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§ Mr. CartwrightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the average household rate payment in the London borough of Greenwich for 1988–89; and what is his estimate of a community charge based on the same level of expenditure.
§ Mr. HowardI hope to be able to publish 1988–89 illustrative community charges for all authorities shortly. However, I do not yet have a budget return from the London borough of Greenwich.
§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the level of community charge for spending at needs assessment which would apply in 1988–89 if the proposed local government finance system were in operation; and what assumptions are made to arrive at that answer.
§ Mr. Ridley[holding answer 9 May 1988]: I hope to be able to publish these figures with full exemplifications for 1988–89 shortly. These estimates are dependent on local authority budget figures. More than 150 authorities have changed the budget figures on which AMA exemplifications were based, seven by more than £1 million.