§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the organisations which have made representations concerning exemptions from the community charge for people with a severe mental impairment.
§ Mr. LangThe following organisations with an interest in the exemption for the severely mentally impaired were consulted about the detailed provisions relating to that exemption:
- Archdiocesan Council for the Mentally Handicapped
- Association of Directors of Social Work
- British Association of Social Workers
- British Psychological Society (Scottish Branch of the Division of Clinical Psychology)
- Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
- Health Board General Managers
- Housing Corporations
- Institute of Health Service Management (Scottish Division)
- Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
- Psychiatric Nurses Association
- Royal College of General Practitioners (Scottish Council)
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal College of Psychiatrists (Scottish Division)
- Scottish Assessors' Association
- Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
- Scottish General Medical Services Committee
- Scottish Society for Mental Handicap
In addition my right hon. and learned Friend has received representations or inquiries from:—
and a number of Health Boards and other NHS organisations.
- Alzheimers Scotland
- ACORN Centre, Edinburgh
- British Medical Association
- Scottish Action on Dementia
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by district council area the weekly net income level at which a single person with no dependants would lose entitlement to the community charge rebate.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of adults who will be eligible for a community charge rebate.
§ Mr. LangIt is estimated that over 1 million adults in Scotland will receive a community charge rebate.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of premises, broken down by community charge registration area, which have been designated as liable for the collective community charge.
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§ Mr. LangThe number of designated premises included on the community charges register for each regional and islands council area as at 1 October 1988 was as follows:
Number Borders 3 Central n/a Dumfries and Galloway 8 Fife 5 Grampian n/a Highland 6 Lothian 37 Strathclyde 40 Tayside 60 Orkney 0 Shetland 1 Western Isles 0
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce flexibility in the application of the standard community charge multiplier.
§ Mr. LangUnder section 10(7) of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1988, local authorities already have discretion to set the standard community charge multiplier at between one and two times the level of the personal community charge for their areas. There are no plans to introduce greater flexibility.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he will give to private sector tenants who do not have registered rents and to private landlords regarding the abolition of domestic rates and the consequent reduction which should be made to the tenant's period charge following the removal of the rates element.
§ Mr. LangAfter 1 April this year private sector tenants whose accommodation charges include contributions towards their landlord's domestic rates bills will be entitled to a reduction in their payments to reflect the abolition of domestic rates. Landlords will have no right to ask for such contributions. Regulated tenants who do not have a registered rent at present will be able to enforce their right to lower payments by applying to the rent officer for their rent to be registered. They will then know by how much they should reduce their payments, because registered rents are net of any payments towards rates. Tenants in regulated tenancies will have a right to seek registration of a fair rent for as long as their tenancy lasts.
Tenants of assured tenancies taken out from 2 January this year will see from the written statement of the terms of their tenancy which their landlord is obliged by law to give them what reduction should be made in their payments from 1 April. Thereafter, prospective tenants will be able to ask the landlord what adjustment has been made to the total accommodation charge to take account of the rates element of the previous charge.
Tenants will therefore have full protection against unreasonable charges by landlords.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if single persons in prison will be liable for a standard community charge and community water charge in respect of a house they own, rent or lease during the period of their imprisonment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LangWhere a prisoner's house ceases to be his sole or main residence and there is no one else solely or596W mainly resident there he will be liable to pay the standard community charge and the standard community water charge in respect of it.