HC Deb 25 April 1988 vol 132 cc60-1W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who will he responsible for the payment of the poll tax on prison department properties lived in by prison officers and their families; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Howard

Prison officers and members of their families over the age of 18 will be responsible for paying the personal community charge on the same basis as other adults.

Mr. Bermingham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance is to be given to local authorities in England and Wales to compensate for the information technology expenditure which will be incurred by the registration process for the community charge; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Howard

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 13 April at column 127 to the hon. Member for Thurrock (Mr. Janman) and my reply of 20 April at column 481 to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the additional administration costs falling on the London borough of Waltham Forest as a result of his decision to make transitional arrangements for introduction of the community charge in that borough; and if he will reimburse those additional administration costs.

Mr. Howard

[pursuant to his reply, 3 December 1987; c. 642]: We have now further considered the question of reimbursing those boroughs which will be required to maintain their domestic rating system alongside the community charge during the transitional period. We have concluded that it would be right to arrange for some compensation for the reasonable extra costs involved outside the revenue support grant arrangements. We shall therefore be seeking a power to pay specific grant to the boroughs concerned. The details of the proposed grant will be a matter for consultation.

We have also reconsidered the extent of the application of these arrangements in the light of representations from some of those affected and in the light of the preliminary returns of expenditure for 1988–89. We have concluded that it would be right to increase the threshold for inclusion within these arrangements so that only those areas where combined budgeted expenditure for 1987–88 of the authorities operating in that area exceeded the combined needs assessment for the area by more than £200 per head will now be affected. This change would have the effect of ensuring that domestic rates would be abolished in the London borough of Waltham Forest, the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster and the London borough of Wandsworth from 1 April 1990.