§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the length of time it takes for rating assessment appeals to be heard in authorities in West Yorkshire, giving a breakdown for each authority; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 28 July 1988]: A number of factors determine the time taken for an appeal to reach a local valuation court hearing. These include the complexity of the case, the workload of each of the parties to the appeal and the workload of the local valuation panel. On average, an appeal in west Yorkshire is heard by the local valuation court within nine to 12 months of its receipt.
§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the details of rating valuation assessments appeals in the West Yorkshire area, giving information as to agreements reached with the valuation offices and appeals submitted to the valuation courts; and if he will give a breakdown for each local authority area.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 28 July 1988]: During the year 1987–88 in the west Yorkshire area, 19,906 proposals by the valuation office to alter rateable values were settled without objection. A further 449 proposals by the Valuation Office, to which objections were received, were settled within the statutory period and 2,038 such proposals were passed to the local valuation panel as appeals to the local valuation court. In the same period, 1,800 proposals by ratepayers were settled within the statutory period and 4,860 proposals were passed to the local valuation panel as appeals. It is not possible in the time available to give a breakdown of these figures by local authority area.
§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of the outstanding rating valuation appeals for the Yorkshire and Humberside region, giving details of the appeals outstanding for each local authority area, and a breakdown of domestic and industrial appeals.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 28 July 1988]: The number of appeals outstanding at 30 June 1988 in the local valuation panels in the Yorkshire and Humberside region is as follows:
810W
Appeals Humberside 1,848 North Yorkshire 1,107 South Yorkshire 1,837 West Yorkshire 4,594 It is not possible, in the time available, to give a breakdown of these figures by local authority area or to provide a breakdown between domestic and non-domestic appeals.