§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number and names of local authorities which have written to him objecting to the poll tax.
§ Mr. HowardA summary of the 1,217 responses received by 31 October 1986, when the consultation period on the Green Paper ended, was placed in the Library on 15 December 1986. 124 of the local authorities who commented did not support the community charge. Taking respondents as a whole, those favouring abolition of domestic rates outnumbered those favouring retention by 21. A clear majority of them preferred the community charge to all other alternatives and six times as many respondents supported the community charge as supported a combination of rates and local income tax.
Since June 1987 my Department has received some 11,000 letters, the majority of which are from private individuals, containing a variety of comments on specific aspects of our proposals or requesting further information. The letters do not readily lend themselves to an analysis of correspondents' views.