§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last three years in respect of evasion of the road fund licence and with what result; what is the latest estimate of the amount of revenue lost as a result of drivers not properly holding valid road fund licences; and what is the current number of valid road fund licences in issue.
§ Mr. Kenneth MarksThere were 156,152 prosecutions in 1973, 144,905 in 1974 and 156,286 in 1975. They led to fines and back duty of £2.5 million, £2.6 million and £3.4 million respectively being paid; including cases where mitigated penalties were paid in lieu of
628Wthe metropolitan counties, (c) the non-metropolitan districts in England and (d) the Welsh districts.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettThe average general rates payable by the domestic ratepayer for 1976–77, with the increase over the corresponding payment for 1975–76, are as follows:
Average Payment 1976–77 Increase Over 1975–76 1976–77 1975–76 £ % London 149 2.3 Metropolitan Districts 89 7.5 Non-Metropolitan Districts in England 96 12.4 Non-Metropolitan Districts in Wales 59 16.0 Water charges are no longer part of the rate, and details by class of authority are not available. The average payments for 1976–77 and the increases over 1975–76 within the area of each water authority are as follows:
prosecution, the figures became £3.4 million, £3.4 million and £4.7 million.
The estimated annual loss of revenue through evasion of vehicle excise duty is £40 million. In April 1976, the latest month for which figures are available, there were 17.07 million current licences.