§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the estimates of the community charge for the city of Nottingham issued by his Department since 1987.
§ Mr. ChopeThe only estimates of the likely level of the community charge which my Department has published were placed in the Library on 6 November 1989. These showed a provisional 1990–91 community charge of £225 in Nottingham. Without any special transitional arrangements the community charge would be £252.
Illustrative figures have also been published for 1987–88 to 1989–90 showing what the level of the community charge might have been based on local authority responsibilities and expenditure levels in those years. The published figures for Nottingham are shown in the table both with and without the transitional arrangements then proposed.
Published illustrative community charge in Nottingham Without transitional arrangements With transitional arrangements 1987–88 207 195 1988–89 251 231 1989–90 242 247
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many householders in the Bolton area will receive safety net payments on the community charge; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeThe impact of the community charge safety net in each area is not yet known. Provisional figures placed in the Library on 6 November suggest that Bolton will benefit from the safety net, and every chargepayer in Bolton will see the same reduction on their bills.
In addition about 6 million people in England are expected to benefit from the proposed transitional relief scheme. Estimates of the number in each local authority area are not available.