HC Deb 14 June 1977 vol 933 cc108-9W
Mr. Bean

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is now able to make a statement about rate relief for the disabled following his study of the implications of the decision in the case of Vandyk v. Oliver.

Mr. Freeson

Yes. I regret the length of time there has been in considering this matter. This has arisen mainly because of the obscurity of the present legislative provisions and the difficulty of elucidating the present state of the law in the light of the judgment given in the other place in the case of Vandyk v. Oliver.

The legal position is not free from doubt, but I am advised that where relief has been given in the past to ratepayers in England and Wales in connection with improvements to dwellings to meet the needs of disabled persons, the Vandyk judgment would only affect that relief in a small number of cases. Disabled persons who are already receiving relief will be glad to know this, and I am able to assure those few disabled people who have been relieved of rates in circumstances where the Vandyk decision raises doubts that it is not the intention of valuation officers to initiate action to get that relief withdrawn or reduced.

As far as outstanding appeals are concerned I hope that this statement and the detailed advice which will be given to officers involved will enable settlements to be reached in most cases. Inevitably a few appeals still have to be heard by the courts to determine whether relief is appropriate in the light of the Vandyk judgment.

For the future I have decided that disabled people should not be left in a situation in which obscurities of the law leave them in doubt about the rating reliefs to which they are entitled, and in which they are at risk of having these reliefs severely curtailed because of fresh interpretations of the law in new decisions of the courts. I therefore intend at the earliest available opportunity to introduce legislation which would create greater certainty by spelling out the circumstances in which relief is applicable, and specifying either the amount of relief or how it will be determined for each circumstance.

A feature of the change I propose is that relief would be given by way of a deduction from the rate bill instead of, as now, by a deduction from the rateable value.

The organisations concerned in the matter—both the local authority associations and those interested in the problems of the disabled—will be consulted about the details of the proposals in a consultation document which the Department will shortly be sending out.

Institutions for the care of the disabled which get relief under the present law will continue to receive it under the new proposals.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is answering a separate Question today on rate relief for the disabled in Scotland.