§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, with reference to the Under-Secretary of State's letter of 11 December 1984 to the local authority associations, (a) how this relates to the review of local authority charges undertaken by his predecessor in 1979–80, (b) what was the outcome of this review and what proposals the Government made and (c) under which legislation such proposals have been given effect.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[pursuant to his answer, 29 January 1985, c. 129]: The 1979 review of fees and charges looked at existing charges for local services and recommended that responsibility for a number of minor fees and charges be transferred from central to local government when a suitable legislative opportunity arose. The Government has accepted that recommendation in principle.
However, as I indicated in my letter of 11 December to the local authority associations, the local government finance studies will be looking at the whole issue of local revenue raising in the context of measures to improve the accountability of authorities to their electors, including the possibility of increased use of fees and charges for the beneficial use of services. This goes wider than the original remit of the 1979 review. Nevertheless, we regard the findings of that review as an input to the present studies and will certainly be taking them into account.