§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now provide an estimate of the amount of the community charge in Lambeth on the assumption that expenditure remains at budget levels for 1989–90.
§ Mr. GummerI refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 25 April to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) at column532.
§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of people who will either pay the community charge or be exempted from it from 1 April 1990.
§ Mr. GummerLatest estimates from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys suggest that there are about 36.5 million adults in England. Around 0.5 million are expected to be exempt from the personal community charge.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will set out in tabular form the level of the community charge for(a) Dacorum borough and (b) Hertfordshire county if it had been in effect in the financial year 1988–89 and 1989–90 (i) at the level of spending budgeted and (ii) if the local authority concerned had spent at its grant-related expenditure allowance level.
§ Mr. GummerThe illustrative figures placed in the Library on 23 June 1988 suggested that if the community charge had been in operation in 1988–89, the charge in Dacorum district would have been £247. The community charge for spending at need would have been £202. Of the excess of £45, £3 was attributable to spending by Dacorum and £42 to spending by Hertfordshire county council.
Illustrative figures for 1989–90 will be published for all areas once data needed from local authorities has been received and analysed.
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide the latest available figures for the costs of administering the rates in England and Wales, together with his estimate of the comparable costs of the administration of the community charge.
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§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 26 April 1989]: Our estimate of the cost of collecting and administering the community charge in 1990–91 in England and Wales, based on the Price Waterhouse report, is between £379 million (if all authorities work as efficiently as the most efficient in their category) and £429 million (if authorities maintain their current efficiency). These estimates were at November 1987 prices. The cost of collecting the rates in 1989–90 is estimated to be about £200 million. The Labour party's two-tax system could cost up to four times as much to administer as the existing rating system.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been received from(a) trades unions representing Government information officers and (b) individual officials, concerning the preparation and dissemination of material relating to the community charge.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 26 April 1989]: In the normal course of business I receive advice from my officials on community charge information material. I am not aware of having received any representations from the trade unions mentioned by the hon. Member.
§ Mr NellistTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report a consolidated list of all sources of legislation and official guidance to the public, local authorities and other interested bodies on the operation of the community charge, giving reference to title, date, authorship, means of availability and other relevant details.
§ 3. Mr. Gummer[holding answer 27 April 1989]: The following are official sources of information and guidance about the operation of the community charge:
Legislation
- Local Government Finance Act, 1988 (July 1988)
- Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989 (SI. 1989/438) (March 1989)
- Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989 (SI. 1989/439) (March 1989)
- Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals (Transfer of Jurisdiction) Regulations 1989 (SI. 1989/440) (March 1989)
- The Personal Community Charge (Students) Regulations 1989 (SI. 1989/443) (March 1989)
- The Personal Community Chrge (Exemptions) Order 1989 (SI. 1989/442) (March 1989)
- The Valuation of Rating (Plant and Machinery) Regulations 1989 (SI. 1989/441) (March 1989)
Community Charge Practice Notes
The Government, in conjunction with the local authority associations, is publishing a series of community charge practice notes. These provide detailed advice on the operation of the community charge and are circulated to local authority practitioners and others with a professional interest in community charge. The following practice notes have been issued to date;
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Date An introduction to the Community Charge May 1988 Exemptions June 1988 The Register August 1988 Data Protection August 1988 Rebates August 1983 Omission of Names from the Extract October 1988 Appeals October 1988 The Canvass November 1988 Sole or Main Residence November 1988
Date Data Protection No. 2 January 1989 Billing February 1989 Collection February 1989 Standard Charge March 1989 Collective Charge April 1989 Joint and Several Liability April 1989 Other Publications
My Department is producing guidance for the general public on the community charge by means of a free booklet and series of supplementary free leaflets. Publications so far issued in this series are:
Date "You and the Community Charge (Your Step by Step Guide)" December 1988 "You and the Community Charge: Exemptions" March 1989 Copies of these are available free of charge from Room P1/163, Department of the Environment, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P3EB.
Further free leaflets will shortly be available on appeals, the collective community charge, rebates, second homes and students and the community charge. In addition, My right hon. Friend will send a short leaflet on the community charge to every household in England in May.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the proposed fact sheet on community charge and rents inclusive of rates.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 28 April 1989]: Shortly.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what guidance his Department has issued to community charge registration officers as to how to register for community charge purposes persons with an itinerant lifestyle as they move between local authority areas;
(2) what guidance his Department has issued to community charge registration officers on the registration of people living on non-stationary houseboats who hold a British waterways licence and have a nominal permanent mooring; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 28 April 1989]: Guidance on the registration of individuals in such circumstances is contained in community charge practice note No. 9 entitled "Sole or Main Residence". Copies of all practice notes are in the Library.