§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the annual loss of rents and community charge on the vacant properties in the public and private sector in Liverpool during the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. KeyInformation about rent loss from vacant local authority dwellings is collected on housing revenue account subsidy claim forms submitted by local authorities to the Department. Liverpool city council's mid-year claim form for 1991–92 shows the following estimates:
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- rent loss on vacant local authority dwellings in 1990–91, £5,111,100
- rent loss on vacant local authority dwellings in 1991–92, £6,428,400
The Department does not collect information about rent loss on vacant dwellings in the private sector, nor about losses in respect of community charges on vacant dwellings.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will direct Liverpool city council to refund the cost of wrongfully issued summonses to community charge payers who have paid their bills.
§ Mr. KeyA community chargepayer becomes liable to pay costs only when a liability order has been grated against him by a magistrates' court. In the case of a wrongful summons, it would be the local authority who would bear the cost of the abortive work.