§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the community charge regulations allow for delivery of community charge registration forms by registration officers in England to addresses in Scotland;
(2) whether the community charge regulations allow registration officers in England to take action against occupiers of houses in Scotland for non-registration for community charge purposes.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 6 June 1987]: A community charge registration officer may request information from anyone he reasonably believes is, or has been, or will be subject to a community charge in his area. Anyone failing without reasonable excuse to supply the information, or knowingly supplying wrong information, may be subject to a penalty. Nothing in the legislation precludes requests being made to an address in Scotland, or penalties being imposed on individuals with an address in Scotland, in connection with a community charge arising in England or Wales.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on(a) the progress being made in making fully operational the valuation and community charge tribunals, (b) the additional costs involved and (c) the role of his Department's staff in this process.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 9 June 1989]: The Department's staff are working closely with members and clerks of the valuation and community charge tribunals to ensure that they have the resources to carry out their functions. Good progress has been made in designing and installing computer systems, in providing enlarged accommodation, and in recruiting and training the staff needed for this task. The cost of running the tribunals in England in 1989–90 is expected to exceed the cost of the old local valuation panels in 1988–89 by about £4 million.