§ 19. Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning the criteria for relief from the poll tax for disabled people.
§ Mr. LangMy right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of representations about the reliefs from liability to pay the full community charge that may be available for disabled people.
§ 20. Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received regarding the community charge from the police forces in Scotland.
§ 21. Mr. PatnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what average level of community charge in Scotland he is now estimating for 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.
§ 42. Mr. DouglasTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the levels of poll tax declared by the regions and districts in Scotland for the year 1988–89.
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§ Mr. LangThe average level of community charge in Scotland in 1989–90, including community water charge will be £301, as compared with the average charge of £267, which would have been required had authorities budgeted only to increase their spending in line with inflation. It is clear that many authorities have budgeted to increase their spending by well over the rate of inflation, and I expect that their community charge payers will call them to account in due course.
§ 23. Mr. SteelTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will seek to remove the anomaly in the community charge regulations whereby people with a severe mental impairment have been given exemption from paying the community charge whereas people with degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease will not quality for exemption.
§ Mr. RifkindThe question whether people with degenerative brain disorders should be exempt from liability to pay the community charge was considered in detail during the parliamentary stages of the community charge legislation. It was recognised that considerable difficulties and potential for unfairness would be involved in assessing precisely when such a person reached a level of impairment at which an exemption would be appropriate. I remain satisfied that there are no grounds for extending the present exemptions for people who are severely mentally impaired to include those with degenerative brain disorders.
§ 24. Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest assessment of the effect of the poll tax on medically and socially disadvantaged groups.
52. Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest assessment of the effect of the poll tax on medically and socially disadvantaged groups.
§ 53. Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest assessment of the effect of the poll tax on medically and socially disadvantaged groups.
§ Mr. LangThe community charge rebate scheme will ensure that nobody will be required to pay more community charge than they are able to afford. It is estimated that over 1 million people in Scotland will benefit from the scheme. The calculation of people's eligibility for rebate takes account of a wide range of circumstances including their financial circumstances and whether they are disabled. In addition, the community charge provides for exemption from the community charge for certain groups of people, including those with severe mental impairment and long-stay patients in hospitals, residential care homes, nursing homes or hostels.
§ 26. Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what account he took in reaching his estimate of the 1989–90 average poll tax levy for each regional and district authority of demand for education, housing and other services that these authorities are responsible for and of the likely increase of the cost of providing such services.
§ Mr. LangOur estimates were based on local authorities' own budgeted relevant current expenditure for 1988–89, plus 6 per cent., plus allowances for the additional costs of community charge administration and school boards. Most housing costs fall on the housing revenue account and do not directly affect the levels of community charges.
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§ 27. Mr. Ernie RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the use of computer tagging to assist with the community charge.
§ Mr. LangRepresentations that a personal identifier would be required for each individual liable for the personal community charge were made by local authority practitioners during the passage of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987. Following those representations a requirement for all such individuals to supply registration officers with their date of birth was inserted into the Act. A number of individuals and organisations made representations against the proposal. The development of computer systems is a matter for individual local authorities and my right hon. and learned Friend has made no recommendation to them on whether personal identifiers should be used and, if so, on what basis.
§ 30. Mr Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what sanctions he takes against a regional council that is printing and distributing official forms which describe the community charge as a poll tax; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangI strongly deprecate the use by a local authority of the term "poll tax" in relation to the community charge. It is misleading to do so because it implies, quite wrongly, that there is a connection between liability to pay the community charge and the right to vote. The community charges register and the electoral register are drawn up on different criteria for quite separate purposes.
§ 31. Mr. Ron BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received recent representations from the Scottish Trades Union Congress about the community charge in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangMy right hon. and learned Friend has received no recent representations from the Scottish Trades Union Congress on the community charge. The matter was not raised wth me by the STUC during my meeting with them on 27 January.
§ 33. Mr. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what would be the cost of extending the exemption from the poll tax to people who are severely physically handicapped.
§ Mr. LangThe Government do not intend to extend the exemptions from the community charge to include people who are physically handicapped and no assessment of the cost of such an extension has therefore been made.
§ 37. Mr MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will exempt from the standard community charge owners of properties certified by them to be unsuitable for habitation.
§ Mr. LangJudgments about the habitability of properties are the responsibility of the community charges registration officer. His decisions are subject to appeal in the usual way. A system whereby such judgments were left to the owners of the properties concerned would be unworkable. The standard community charge is not payable on houses subject to closing or demolition orders or which are incapable of being lived in because they are being repaired, improved or reconstructed. Caravans, 299W huts, sheds, bothies or other similar structures which are intended to be used for residential purposes but are not, for any reason habitable throughout the year will remain subject to rating and will not be liable for the standard charge.
38. Mr. Robert HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Alzheimers, Scotland, about the application of the community charge.
§ Mr. LangMy right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of representations from sufferers of Alzheimer's disease regarding payment of the community charge. A response to the points raised in these representations has recently been issued.
§ 44. Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what figures he has available for the number of persons who have thus far not registered for payment of the community charge.
§ Mr. LangResponsibility for the compilation of community charges register rests with individual community charges registration officers and precise information about the levels of registration are not available. Initial indicators suggest, however, that the average level of registration throughout Scotland is around 99 per cent. of those liable to pay the community charge. This clearly demonstrates the failure of those campaigning against the community charge to make any impact.
§ 45. Mr. Tom ClarkeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next intends to meet the Scottish Society for the Mentally Handicapped to discuss the implications of the poll tax.
§ 47. Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what regulations he has issued for community charge registration officers concerning residential care homes.
§ Mr. LangSchedule 1A to the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1988, defines a "residential care home" and exempts someone who is solely or mainly resident in such a home from personal community charge liability.
The Abolition of Domestic Rates (Domestic and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Regulations 1988, which were laid before the House on 24 August 1988, determine the extent to which a residential care home will be treated as a domestic subject for the purposes of section 2 of the 1987 Act.
The Standard and Collective Community Charges (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1988, which were laid on 9 September 1988, provide for exemption from the standard community charge for persons who are exempt from the personal community charge by virtue of being solely or mainly resident in a residential care home.
§ 49. Mr. McKelveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to meet representatives of Scottish students to discuss community charge rebates.
§ 50. Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue advice to local authorities about how best to estimate the proportion of their theoretical maximum poll tax income which will not be collected, taking into account all known factors including deliberate evasion of the registration process; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangNo. This is a matter for the local authorities themselves. The success of the registration process so far suggests that non-collection through evasion will not be a major problem.
§ 56. Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students in Scotland will be liable to pay the poll tax.
§ Mr. LangIt is estimated that about 96,000 full-time students will be required to pay the 20 per cent. contribution towards the personal community charge and personal community water charge for which such students are liable.
§ 57. Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will agree to meet a deputation from the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss its views on the poll tax; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangMy right hon. and learned Friend will as always consider any requests from the Scottish Trades Union Congress for a meeting. No request for a meeting about the community charge has, however, been received. I met the general council of the STUC on Friday 27 January when the issue of the community charge was not raised.
§ 59. Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider seeking to amend the community charge legislation, to exempt individuals with degenerative brain disorders from paying the poll tax.
§ Mr. LangThe question whether people with degenerative brain disorders should be exempt from liability to pay the community charge was considered in detail during the parliamentary stages of the community charge legislation. It was recognised that considerable difficulties and potential for unfairness would be involved in assessing precisely when such a person reached a level of impairment at which an exemption would be appropriate. I remain satisfied that there are no grounds for extending the present exemptions for people who are severely impaired to include those with degenerative brain disorders.
§ 60. Mr. GallowayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had from the National Union of Students, Scottish area, about the impact of the community charge on Scottish students; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangThe National Union of Students was consulted about a number of sets of regulations concerning students which have been made under the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 and its comments were taken fully into account. It has also been consulted on a draft information leaflet about the community charge which is to be made available to students, and its comments are being considered.
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§ 66. Mr. DunnachieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the community charge register to be available for public inspection in Strathclyde and every other region in Scotland.
§ 67. Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the number of mentally handicapped people in Scotland; and how many of them are eligible for exemption from payment of the poll tax.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythIt is not possible to give exact figures or reliable estimates of the total number of people with mental handicap in Scotland since reported prevalence rates for milder degrees of mental handicap show wide variation.
People with severe mental handicap may be eligible for exemption from liability to pay the community charge if they are severely mentally impaired within the meaning of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 as amended and meet the qualifying conditions.
The joint Scottish Home and Health Department—social work services group consultation document of 22 October 1987 on proposals for exempting people with severe mental handicap indicated that an estimated three per 1,000 of the population suffered from severe mental handicap and that the figure included those who were in-patients in mental handicap hospitals and those under 18 years of age.
§ 69. Mr. CanavanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will introduce legislation to stop warrant sales being used against people who refuse to pay the poll tax or fines associated with the poll tax.
§ Mr. LangNo. I am satisfied that existing debt collection procedures are appropriate for the collection of community charge arrears and of associated civil penalties.
§ 70. Mr. David MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the total number of retirement pensioners in Scotland who will not have to pay the full amount of the poll tax; and what percentage of the total number of retirement pensioners in Scotland this figure represents.
§ Mr. LangThere are approximately 1,014,000 persons aged 60 or more in Scotland. It is estimated that over 50 per cent. of these will not have to pay the full amount of the community charge.
§ Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the Scottish local authorities who have written to him supporting the poll tax.
§ Mr. LangNo local authority has made written representations to my right hon. and learned Friend recently about the policy of introducing the community charge.