§ Mr. Silvesterasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether hereditaments which straddle enterprise zone boundaries are eligible for the exemption from rates which applies to industrial and commercial property in the zones.
§ Mr. KingThe Government's intention has been that the exemption from rates applicable to non-domestic hereditaments in enterprise zones should apply to those parts of straddling hereditaments lying inside the zones. The legislation governing the rates exemption—schedule 113W 32 to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980—does not, however, provide the correct statutory basis for such partial exemptions. I intend to bring forward amendments to the Local Government (Finance) No. 2 Bill to remedy this defect in respect of enterprise zones in England and Wales with effect from this financial year.
In the meantime, therefore, with the agreement of the Treasury, I and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales propose to make extra-statutory payments. We are asking rating authorities to make these payments as our agents to the ratepayers concerned.
At our request, local valuation officers will informally apportion rateable values to the parts of straddling hereditaments situated inside and outside enterprise zone boundaries when asked to do so by rating authorities. We are asking rating authorities to make to the ratepayers concerned a non-statutory payment corresponding to the sum paid in respect of rates for the year 1981–82 on the parts of straddling hereditaments which are within the enterprise zone boundaries. They will be reimbursed by our Department for the cost of these payments, which will be noted on our Department's Appropriation Accounts. This process of apportionment will apply only to rating: it does not affect any of the other benefits available within enterprise zones. We estimate that these extra-statutory payments for 1981–82 might amount to about £1 million. The cost of rate relief in respect of straddling hereditaments in 1982–83, which we hope it will be possible to pay on a statutory basis following amendment of the 1980 Act, cannot be precisely forecast, but these are expected to be of broadly the same order.
My Department and the Welsh Office have written today to the local authorities concerned in England and Wales. My hon. Friends the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland and the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland are making separate announcements on this subject today.
§ 27. Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for the Environment in which of the London boroughs there is the highest percentage increase in domestic rate bills, including precepts, and in which the lowest increase, or greatest decrease, compared with 1981–82.
§ Mr. KingBecause Richmond's own borough rate poundage is so much lower than the average for outer London boroughs, the penal increase of 91 per cent. in the GLC rate has a disproportionately higher percentage effect on the total rate and causes it to suffer the highest domestic percentage increase. Conversely, Lambeth, which has one of the highest rate poundages in inner London, is less affected in percentage terms, and has the greatest decrease compared with 1981–82. This illustrates the erroneous basis of the hon. Member's question, since even after its decrease Lambeth's domestic rate is 167.5p and Richmond's, after its increase, 108.1p.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received consequential upon the publication of the Government's Green Paper "Alternatives to Domestic Rates" for and against the complete funding of education by central Government, as suggested in paragraph 5 of appendix B of the Green Paper.
§ Mr. KingA considerable number of the representations recieved on the Green Paper "Alternatives to114W Domestic Rates" commented on the financing of the education service. A majority of these favoured the complete or partial transfer of education funding to central government. A minority, including most of those from the local authorities and the teaching profession were not in favour of any extension of central Government funding.