§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the refunds of value added tax under section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act 1983 for the last five years per year for(a) county councils and (b) district councils, giving separate figures for Scotland, Wales and England.
§ Mr. Lilley[holding answer 14 January 1988]: The detailed analysis requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows the net sums repaid annually to local government bodies, the bulk of which relates to refunds under section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act 1983 and under the predecessor legislation for each of the last five years.
Year Total VAT refund £ 1982–83 707,180,000 1983–84 834,410,000 1984–85 957,950,000 1985–86 1,081,200,000 1986–87 1,198,300,000