HC Deb 05 May 1988 vol 132 cc568-70W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will ensure that any future official publicity material in relation to the community charge will inform future community charge payers that their name and address may be sold without their consent or knowledge and that their name and address on the register may be inspected by police, Inland Revenue, the Department of Health and Social Security and other organisations without their consent or knowledge.

Mr. Howard

Paragraph 16 of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill would allow regulations to be made requiring the sale of extracts from community charges registers. No decision has yet been taken to make use of that regulation-making power.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis he has concluded that it is in the public interest for the extract of names and addresses from the community charge register to be open for public inspection; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ridley

It is in the public interest that the community charges register should be accurate and up to date. The availability of the extract for public inspection will be of assistance in achieving that aim.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the circumstances in which it will constitute a reasonable step, under clause 6(8) of the Local Government Finance Bill, for the staff of the community charge registration officer to question individuals about their neighbours for the purposes of compiling the community charge register.

Mr. Ridley

It will be for the registration officer to decide, in the first instance, what constitutes a "reasonable step" in each case for the purposes of obtaining information.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether data held by district health authorities will be prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill;

(2)whether Inland Revenue records will be prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill;

(3)whether data held by family practitioner committees will be prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill.

Mr. Ridley

Data held by family practitioner committees, the Inland Revenue and district health authorities will not be required to be supplied to community charge registration officers under schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether local authorities' records on their own employees and their records on job applicants will be prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ridley

We are considering whether names and addresses from local authorities' employment records should be made available to community charges registration officers.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the police will be permitted to pass any information on individuals, whether in writing or orally, to the community charge registration officer; and if he will make a statement;

(2) whether all information held by the police will be prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill.

Mr. Ridley

Information to be supplied to community charges registration officers will be governed by regulations to be made under schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill. Those regulations will exclude police information from the information to be supplied by precepting authorities.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has consulted the Law Society about his proposal made in Standing Committee E, on 11 February,Official Report, column 619, that solicitors will inform the community charge registration officer of an individual's change of address.

Mr. Ridley

No. I assume that those moving house will want their solicitors to notify local authorities of the change of address, as is normal practice now with rates.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether all information held by local authority social services departments will he prescribed information under paragraph 9(2)(D) of schedule 2 to the Local Government Finance Bill.

Mr. Ridley

The information to be supplied to a community charges registration officer by a charging or precepting authority will be limited to the name and address of the person concerned and the dates on or between which he was known to the authority. It will not include the reason for his being known to the authority, or the source of the information within the authority.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether there are any circumstances in which health authorities will be required to provide information to the community charge registration officer; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ridley

There are no circumstances in which health authorities will be required to provide information to community charges registration officers.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the individuals and organisations from whom he has received representations advocating that local authorities should be required to make available for sale the list of names and addresses from the community charge register.

Mr. Ridley

The Government have received representations in favour of the sale of the extract of addresses and names from the Guild of British Newspaper Editors and the Retail Credit Group.

Dr. Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the community charge registration officer will he permitted to collect any information on children under 17 years.

Mr. Ridley

It will be for each registration officer to decide, in the first instance, what information he needs in order to compile and maintain the register. There is no reason to believe that it will generally be necessary to collect information on children under 17.

Mr. Hardy

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the level of community charge which will apply in the Metropolitan borough of Rotherham.

Mr. Howard>

[holding answer 3 May 1988]: The community charge applying in any area will depend on a number of factors, in particular, the level of spending in that area at that time. On the basis of 1987.88 spending, I estimate the community charge in Rotherham would have been £189 in the first year of the new system and £252 once the new arrangements were fully in place.