§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice is being given to district councils about the best time to canvass for the information necessary for the community charge registers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerCharging authorities have been advised that we propose to bring the regulations which will place a duty on individuals to provide information to registration officers into effect on 22 May, following the distribution by the Government of a public information leaflet.
§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his best estimates of the costs of administration, per community charge account, of the community charge in England.
§ Mr. RidleyPrice Waterhouse estimated that the annual cost of collecting the community charge would be between £374 million and £430 million, an average of £9.40 to £10.70 per account. This is in line with the current unit cost of collecting rates.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the average domestic rate for each district in Cambridgeshire for each year from 1983–84 to 1988–89; and what the community charge would have been for each year if the system had been in place.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 6 February 1989]: The information requested is given in the table.
The actual average domestic rate bill and poundage in each year is shown for each district together with the illustrative full community charge, where available.
181W
1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 Huntingdonshire Average Domestic Rate Bill (£) 246 276 288 382 406 429 Domestic Rate (p) 126.0 140.3 145.8 192.6 202.9 213.5 Community Charge (£) n/a 96 117 157 181 203 Peterborough Average Domestic Rate Bill (£) 254 282 295 384 408 435 Domestic Rate (p) 139.5 154.5 161.5 209.5 221.5 234.5 Community Charge (£) n/a 125 141 182 214 231 South Cambridgeshire Average Domestic Rate Bill (£) 308 351 364 493 526 554 Domestic Rate (p) 121.4 137.6 142.0 191.2 201.4 211.6 Community Charge (£) n/a 80 104 135 167 186 n/a—No illustrative community charge figures available.