§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in theOfficial Report the precise criteria used to decide the extent of the budget reduction required for each local authority designated for charge capping in 1990–91.
Mr. HuntThe cap which my right hon. Friend has proposed for each designated authority reflects his view, on the basis of all the information available to him, of a reasonable and appropriate level of budget reduction for that authority in all its circumstances.
§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities which would have been subject to the capping of the community charge had his selection of expenditure levels not been included as a qualification.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 18 April 1990]: It would not be right for me to speculate about the consequences of adopting some selection principles different from those which my right hon. Friend has determined and which he is satisfied are reasonable, appropriate and in accordance with the statute.
§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many district councils will be affected by his statement on capping which was given to the House on 3 April; what is the number of adults liable for the poll tax in each district council area and what is the total; what is the number of people eligible for rebates or transitional relief in each district council area and what is the total; and if he has any estimate of the likely costs of rebilling and recalculating for the total number of people affected.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 18 April 1990]: My right hon. Friend designated 10 district councils for capping on 3 April 1990. Another 14 district councils (excluding Bristol which itself was designated) will be affected by capping by virtue of the designation of Avon and Derbyshire county councils. Following is a list of the district councils concerned together with the relevant population of each and the total. The Department does not have information about the numbers of people eligible for community charge benefit or transitional relief in each area.
(i) District Councils designated for capping Council Relevant Population Barnsley 167,712 Basildon 119,185 Bristol 290,725 Calderdale 143,540 Doncaster 218,650 North Tyneside 151,181 Rochdale 158,227 Rotherham 201,284 St. Helens 136,039 Wigan 231,410 Total 1,817,953 1028W
(ii) Other District Councils affected by capping Council Relevant Population Bath 57,700 Kingswood 67,953 Northavon 94,745 Wansdyke 60,311 Woodspring 140,098 Amber Valley 86,949
Council Relevant Population Bolsolver 54,433 Chesterfield 77,412 Derby 164,676 Erewash 83,899 High Peak 63,382 North East Derbyshire 75,126 South Derbyshire 54,510 Derbyshire Dales 53,569 Total 1,134,763 Grand Total 2,952,716 The Department estimates that the cost of issuing new charge bills, including recalculating community charge benefit and transitional relief as appropriate, would on average be about £200,000 per charging authority.