§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information his Department has on the level of registration and non-registration for the poll tax in(a) England and (b) Nottingham;
(2) if he will make a statement on progress on registration for the poll tax in England.
§ Mr. GummerThe Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. As far as the community charge is concerned, the hon. Member really cannot seriously expect any information on levels of registration before registration officers have even started to compile their registers. Registration officers have until the end of November 1989 to complete their initial registers.
32W
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates his Department has made of the costs of collecting the poll tax compared with collecting the rates in(a) Nottingham and (b) England as a whole.
§ Mr. GummerThe Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax.
We estimate that the cost of collecting community charges in England and Wales would be approximately twice the cost of collecting rates, since there will be twice as many chargepayers as there are now ratepayers. The two tax alternatives proposed by Labour would, of course, cost significantly more than either rates or the community charge to collect.
We have made no estimate of the collection costs for any individual charging authority.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what a ward sister would pay(a) in poll tax and (b) in rates if she lived in (i) a typical one-bedroom flat and (ii) a typical two-bedroomed house in Nottingham.
§ Mr. GummerThe Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Based on 1988–89 figures, a ward sister living in a flat or house of average rateable value in Nottingham would pay a rates bill of around £430. This compares with the illustrative community charge figure of £251 (with no safety net) or £231 (with the safety net).
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the 10 local authorities on current estimates which will levy(a) the highest and (b) the lowest level of poll tax; giving the political control in each authority.
§ Mr. GummerThe Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Illustrative community charges for 1988–89 were published on 23 June 1988 and placed in the Library.
Based on these figures, the 10 highest ranking areas are Camden, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Hackney, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Islington, City of London and Hammersmith and Fulham. All are Labour-controlled London boroughs, with the exception of the City, which is independent. The community charge in all ten reflects spending by the Labour-controlled Inner London education authority.
The 10 lowest ranking areas are Isles of Scilly (independent), Runnymede (Conservative), Purbeck (no overall control), Rochester upon Medway (Conservative), Redbridge (Conservative), North Dorset (independent), West Dorset (independent), Hereford (Liberal), Poole (Conservative) and South Herefordshire (independent).
The county councils providing services in these areas—Kent (Rochester and Medway), Dorset (Purbeck, North and West Dorset), Surrey (Runneymede), Herefordshire (Hereford, South Herefordshire)—are all under Conservative control.
No Labour-controlled authority figures in any way among the low spenders whereas, with one exception, all the high spenders are Labour-controlled.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list numbers and sources of representations on the poll tax which he has received from individuals and organisations in Nottingham.
33W
§ Mr. GummerThe Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Correspondence on the community charge is not recorded within my Department according to the local government area from which it is received.
§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for publicity on registration for the community charge in the period before 22 May, including(a) the timing, coverage and cost of any newspaper advertisements, (b) the timing and cost of any hoarding advertisements, (c) proposed methods of distribution, timing and cost of any leaflets, (d) the use of broadcast media and the timing and cost, and (e) the timing and cost of any promotional tours, breakfast, meetings, and exhibitions involving Ministers in his Department.
§ Mr. RidleyWhen details of the complete package are finalised, I shall write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will commission research to establish the proportion of the increase or decrease of those registering to vote(a) in Nottingham and (b) in England and Wales as a result of the poll tax and its registration powers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
We have no plans to do so. The register of electors and the community charges register are different registers, separately compiled, and we do not think that research of the kind suggested would be profitable even if it were feasible.