§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the percentage of the population yet to pay their 1990 poll tax(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Nottingham; and what additional cost is necessary per poll tax payer to make good the deficit.
§ Mr. KeyMy Department has estimated, based on returns from three quarters of all authorities, that in England, no payment had been made by 31 December by 11 per cent. of persons with a liability in respect of a personal community charge. In Nottingham the figure is 23 per cent.
Comparable figures for Scotland and Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales.
It is too early to say what charges payable in 1990–91 will prove to be uncollectable. The effect on chargepayers in future years will be minimised if authorities use all the means at their disposal to ensure that charges are paid in full.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the lowest poll tax charge in England; and what would be the total increase in central Government expenditure required to reduce all charges to this level.
§ Mr. KeyThe lowest average community charge in England in 1990–91 was £150, in the London borough of Wandsworth. Assuming that local authorities do not change their budgets, and making no allowance for the reductions in community charge benefit grant and transitional relief grant that would result, central Government grants would need to increase by £7 billion in order for all authorities to set a charge of £150.