§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether community charge officers will be able to trace debtors and defaulters by asking for information concerning an individual's name and address from gas, water and electricity boards.
§ Mr. LangResponsibility for the recovery of arrears of community charges will fall to regional and islands councils as levying authorities. They will have no access to information held by electricity boards or British Gas plc (Scotland). However, under a Scottish amendment to the Local Government Finance Bill my right hon. and learned Friend may make regulations providing that a levying authority may make use of information which it has at its disposal for any other purpose with the exception of prescribed sensitive information. Regional councils would, therefore, be able to use information which they had collected as a result of their responsibilities as water authorities.