§ Sir Terence HigginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the total cost of collecting and administering the council tax as a percentage of the expected yield.
§ Mr. RedwoodAlthough local authorities have yet to set their budgets, I would expect collection costs for the council tax to be under 5 per cent. of budgeted yield.
§ Sir Terence HigginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the number of people likely to be employed in collecting, administering and valuing property, respectively, in order to implement the council tax.
§ Mr. RedwoodThe administration and collection of the council tax will be carried out by local authorities and their agents. This Department does not have records of the numbers of staff employed on these tasks.
The banding of property has been carried out by the Valuation Office agency—VOA—and contracted private sector companies. The total cost of the banding exercise will be some £70 million. Some 512 private sector firms were contracted to carry out banding work under the supervision of the VOA but the Department holds no record of the number of private sector staff involved. To date, some 565 man years have been spent on the banding exercise by the VOA.