§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has about the present level of(a) rent arrears and (b) rate arrears owed to Lambeth borough council.
§ Mr. ChopeThe arrears of rent reported by Lambeth borough council on its housing subsidy claim return at the end of March 1989 were £17.5 million.
Local authorities report rate arrears to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and these are published in "Rate Collection Statistics". The latest reported figure for Lambeth shows rate arrears of £33.3 million at the end of March 1986.
Authorities have a statutory duty to make their accounts within six months and to publish them within nine months of the end of the financial year; Lambeth borough council has not yet published accounts for the years 1986–87 to 1988–89. For the latest position on arrears I would therefore refer the hon. Member to the chief executive.