§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list the uses and disclosures of personal data that can currently be made by charging authorities and community charges registration officers for purposes other than those directly related to the community charge; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangPersonal data collected for community charges purposes can only be disclosed through inspection of community charges register. The register is available for inspection to the extent specified and for the purposes set out in section 20 of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1988, and in regulation 16 of the Community Charges (Registration) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 1988.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland have(a) registered and (b) not registered for the poll tax; how many have (i) paid and (ii) not paid the poll tax; and how many are currently undergoing court proceedings.
§ Mr. LangRegistration for and payment of the community charges are matters for individual community charges registration officers and levying authorities (regional and islands councils) respectively and the information requested is not held centrally. However, I understand from figures provided by them that registration is estimated to be approaching 99 per cent. of the adult population. Local authorities have published no figures regarding payment levels.