§ Mr. AllasonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will end the liability of people who live over their shops to pay both business rates and community charge.
§ Mr. NichollsIt would be inappropriate to change the fundamental liability for either the community charge or the business rate of people who live on their business premises, because adults generally have to pay a personal charge irrespective of where they live, and rates are paid on all non-domestic property. However, we recognise that the occupiers of composite hereditaments with lower rateable values may need a longer period to adapt to the higher bills which they face under the new system. I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 19 July by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment,Official Report, columns 1185–89.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the community charge liability of a single householder who leaves his only house furnished but not occupied in order to do voluntary service overseas for a period of(a) three months, (b) six months and (c) nine months in a community charge year.
§ Mr. NichollsThe community charge registration officer for an area determines the residence of an individual taking account whether a move abroad is temporary or permanent. Where the move is permanent, no personal community charge is payable, but a standard charge may arise on any furnished property remaining which is no one's main home. The amount of standard charge will depend in a particular case on whether a maximum multiplier has been prescribed by the Secretary of State or, if it has not, whether the local authority has used its discretion to specify classes of circumstances where a multiplier of less than the maximum may apply.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to end the entitlement of the mature student spouse of a top income tax rate payer to pay the reduced rate of 20 per cent. community charge.
§ Mr. NichollsA very small proportion of full-time students have employment-related or private income which attracts income tax at the higher rate. The administrative cost of screening about 500,000 students, the overwhelming majority of whom have incomes which would qualify for maximum community charge benefit, would greatly exceed the increased charge revenue collected from such a small group, to the disadvantage of all charge payers and taxpayers.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about 183W the liability of housebuilders for standard community charge on new houses which they have not sold; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsI have received a number of representations from the housebuilding industry. We have provided for no standard charge to be payable on properties whose construction is not complete and for six months thereafter unless the property becomes occupied before that date. Local authorities have the discretion to extend that period of time, and may wish to take into account the prevailing state of the housing market.
§ Mr. Allen McKayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with those local authorities that have been charge-capped on the problems of raising community charge income over a reduced period; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with those local authorities that have been charge-capped about the problems of raising the community charge income over a reduced period; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsOf the 17 authorities which put forward alternatives to the caps I originally proposed, a number
Shops Offices Factories Hotels and Boarding Houses Mines Region Without transition With transition Without transition With transition Without transition With transition Without transition With transition Without transition With transition Northern -14 -4 -36 -9 -49 -11 28 5 9 4 Yorkshire and Humberside -3 -3 -27 -8 -37 -9 39 12 115 17 East Midlands -1 0 -22 -6 -35 -9 64 15 67 14 East Anglia 31 10 5 2 -11 -4 64 16 — — Inner London 74 14 23 9 6 0 146 20 — — Outer London 26 7 -0 1 -19 -6 59 17 — — Rest of South East 33 10 30 10 -12 -4 82 16 39 20 South West 34 9 12 5 -15 -5 36 8 -25 -7 West Midlands -14 -4 -23 -7 -47 -10 56 15 113 20 North West -15 -4 -35 -8 -46 -10 30 10 49 17 England 19 4 12 5 -30 -7 80 15 74 14 Walsall MBC -37 -11 -44 -12 -56 -11 21 7 — — Note: The totals for England may not sum due to rounding.
§ Mr. SquireTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance the Government have issued in respect of the treatment by charging authorities of teachers in boarding schools who occupy tied accommodation in performance of their job for community charge purposes in respect of that accommodation; and whether this position is affected in any way by the designation given to such a teacher's own and separate property.
§ Mr. NichollsGuidance has been given to local authorities on the interpretation of sole or main residence in community charge practice note No. 9. Guidance was also given last year on the scope of local authorities' discretion to specify their own classes of standard charge property. One example given of possible additional classes was property which is empty because the owner is required to live elsewhere as a condition of his or her employment. However, we have now proposed that the Government should prescribe centrally such a class of property, limiting the maximum multiplier an authority may set to one times the personal charge. Our proposals are contained in the
184Wmade representations about the collection of community charges. My right hon. Friend considered all relevant information including any representations made by authorities before taking his decisions on the final caps, which were approved by the House on 12 July.
§ Mr. CanavanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about proposed amendments to the operation of the poll tax.
§ Mr. NichollsMy right hon. Friend did so on 19 July.
§ Mr. Richard ShepherdTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 6 July, if he will publish the overall percentage increase in rate bills in 1990–91 as against 1989–90 of(a) shops, (b) factories, (c) hotels and boarding houses, (d) offices and (e) mines, in total, by economic regions, and for Walsall metropolitan borough council (i) including the effects of transitional relief and (ii) excluding the effects of transitional relief.
§ Mr. NichollsThe percentage change represented by the figures given in my reply of 6 July, with the addition of similar information in respect of Walsall metropolitan borough council, is shown in the table.
consultation paper "The Standard Community Charge and Other Matters", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local authorities whose expenditure per capita for the current year is less than the level of central support received by(a) Westminster and (b) Wandsworth, expressed as a per capita figure.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 23 July 1990]: Since most authorities' spending per capita is less than central Government support per capita for Westminster and Wandsworth the question has been answered in terms of local authorities whose expenditure per capita exceeds or is equal to the level of central Government support per capita for Westminster and Wandsworth. The authorities are as follows:
(a) Authorities whose expenditure per capita is greater than or equal to central Government support received by Westminster.
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City of London Islington Tower Hamlets Manchester
Kensington and Chelsea Wolverhampton Camden Salford Newham Coventry Brent Sandwell Liverpool Bradford Westminster Walsall Birmingham Wirral Wandsworth Gateshead Waltham Forest Calderdale Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Oldham Knowsley Kirklees Ealing South Tyneside (b) Authorities whose expenditure per capita is greater than or equal to central Government support received by Wandsworth.
Bolton Barking and Dagenham Sunderland Kingston-Upon-Thames Richmond-Upon-Thames Trafford Sheffield Leeds Wigan Croydon Enfield Sefton Tameside Bury Merton Harrow Cleveland Stockport Rotherham All other authorities receive less.
§ Mr. MadelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total sum that would have been raised by councils in England in 1990–91 from the community charge if Government guidelines had been followed; what information he has as to the total sum that will be raised; what was the total sum raised from domestic rates in England in 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 23 July 1990]: Had authorities spent at the level of their standard spending assessments they would have raised £7.9 billion from personal and collective charges. Authorities have budgeted to receive £10.5 billion from charges. These figures exclude community charge benefits and transitional relief. Net domestic rate income in 1989–90 was £8.4 billion.
It is for local authorities to justify their levels of spending to their charge payers.
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many people in the population the Government estimate to be eligible to pay 20 per cent. of their poll tax bill; how many such people are on the poll tax registers; and how many he estimates will pay their 20 per cent.;
(2) what is the estimated revenue that will be received in 1990–91 from those who are required to pay 20 per cent. of their poll tax.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 23 July 1990]: Some 4.5 million people are estimated to be paying 20 per cent. of the personal community charge. Community charges registration officers have a duty to maintain an accurate register of those subject to the charge. All of those liable are obliged to contribute towards the costs of local services.
No separate estimates of revenue received from such charge payers have been made.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in descending order from highest to lowest the demand on the collection fund per adult as shown on the community charge bill for each borough or district council in Essex.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 19 July 1990]: The information is given in the table:
186W
Demand per adult £ Basildon 233.96 Harlow 210.10 Thurrock 163.40 Southend-on-Sea 160.36 Brentwood 138.91 Castle Point 107.64 Chelmsford 106.99 Tendring 105.86 Rochford 93.57 Braintree 88.29 Epping Forest 81.54 Colchester 80.98 Maldon 73.20 Uttlesford 63.99 Notes:
1. Figures may not correspond precisely with those shown on charge bills because for parts of some authorities the demand may include expenditure on special expenses for which only charge payers in those areas contribute.
2. Differences in demand per adult may be affected by differences in the spending needs of authorities, their use of:financial resources and their efficiency in service delivery.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the review of the community charge arrangements as they affect small bed-and-breakfast establishments.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 17 July 1990]: I refer to the statement made on 19 July by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Official Report, columns 1185–89.