§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether a person with dual sensory impairment, such as deaf-blindness, but mentally alert, can 385W gain exemption from the poll tax; what are the procedures for claiming exemptions; whether homes for such people qualify residents for the collective community charge; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeDisability will qualify an individual for exemption from the community charge if it involves severe mental impairment as defined in the legislation. People with other disabilities may qualify for rebates and transitional relief, the detailed rules of which contain special thresholds and allowances for disabled people. People resident as patients in NHS hospitals or in residential care homes, nursing homes, mental nursing homes or certain hostels (again, as defined in the legislation) are exempt from the community charge. Exemption is claimed by giving the registration officer details of the ground on which it is sought. The collective community charge applies only to the residents of buildings where turnover is so frequent that it appears to a registration officer that individual registration and collection of the charge would be impracticable.
§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the rebates and reductions obtainable under the community charge system that are in real terms(a) more generous and (b) less generous than the rebates and reductions currently obtainable under the domestic rate system.
§ Mr. David Hunt[holding answer 1 March 1990]: Rebates of, and reductions in, the community charge are available through community charge benefit and transitional relief. There is no rates equivalent of transitional relief, which is therefore a generous addition to the existing provisions. Community charge benefit is based on the same income and capital criteria as housing benefit, under which rate rebates are paid; but the rate at which benefit is withdrawn as income rises is lower, which means that community charge benefit is available at higher levels of income, and is higher for any given level of income. There is no equivalent under the community charge of rate rebates under the Rating (Disabled Persons) Act 1978; but those rebates were intended to prevent disabled people having to pay higher rates as a result of necessary alterations which increased the rateable value of their home. They are not necessary under a system which is not based on property values.