Local Government Finance (Hansard, 14 May 1990)

§ Mr. Atkinson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates his Department has made of by how much the average community charge would be reduced if the cost of police and fire services were removed from local authorities.

§ Mr. Chope
The effect of the average community charge on removing services from local authorities would depend upon the amount of revenue support grant that was removed at the same time.

§ Mr. Blunkett
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his proposals to revise the operation of the standard community charge.

§ Mr. Portillo
We are collecting information from charging authorities on the use they have made of their discretion to set a standard charge of between 0 and 2 times the personal community charge for their area and to specify classes of property for special treatment in addition to those already prescribed by the Secretary of State. I shall consider this information.

§ Mr. Harry Barnes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 9 May to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East, if he will list all those grants which fall outside aggregate Exchequer finance.

§ Mr. Chope
The main current specific grants outside aggregate Exchequer finance are listed in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93" chapter 21 table 21.4.4, published by HMSO in January 1990 (Cm. 1021). Other grants relating to the housing revenue account and all grants relating to capital expenditures are also outside aggregate Exchequer finance.

§ Mr. Blunkett
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the amount the City of London is planning to spend above standard spending assessment in 1990–91 expressed both as a percentage and in pounds per head.

§ Mr. Portillo
The City of London is planning to spend £10,130 per adult or 63.1 per cent. above its 1990–91 standard spending assessment.

§ Mr. Marlow
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for (i) 1987–88, (ii) 1988–89, (iii)348W 1989–90 and (iv) 1990–91 his estimate of (a) total local government expenditure, (b) the moneys raised from domestic ratepayers-community charge payers, (c) the sum of Government grants, business rates and other grant income and (d) local authority income charged by local authorities, showing the percentage increase in nominal and real terms between years.

§ Mr. Chope
[holding answer 5 April 1990]: I shall write to my hon. Friend.

§ Mr. Blunkett
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list(a) all those local authorities which were subject to rate capping in each of the years from 1985–86 to 1989–90, (b) the initial expenditure limitation proposed by the Secretary of State in each case, and (c) the actual expenditure limitation, where different from (b) in each case.

§ Mr. Portillo
[holding answer 8 May 1990]: I am placing in the Library tables showing the authorities designated for selective rate limitation by successive Secretaries of State for the Environment, the expenditure levels determined by the Secretary of State in each case and where appropriate that redetermined, and the rate limit proposed in each case and that finally set, where different, for each of the years requested.

§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the numbers and percentages of households which will move in any given year in each region of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement outlining his assessment of this movement on community charge collection systems and total local government revenue.

§ Mr. Portillo
[holding answer 10 May 1990]: My Department makes projections of the total number of households in each area, but the movement element is not separately identifiable. We plan to collect information on register changes later in the year when the system has been running for a reasonable period of time. I do not anticipate that the mobility of charge payers will have any significant effect on local government revenue and I am confident that local authorities will be able to maintain reliable, up-to-date registers.

§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he now has concerning the number of councils that are charging 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2 times the community charge on second homes.

§ Mr. Portillo
[holding answer 10 May 1990]: I am presently collecting this information.