HC Deb 08 March 1990 vol 168 cc792-4W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate his Department has of the number of people employed in the assessment and collection of(a) the domestic rates in 1988–89 and (b) the community charge in 1990–91.

Mr. Chope

Information on the number of people employed on domestic rates is not separately distinguishable in the available statistics. An assessment by Price Waterhouse in June 1988 commissioned by the Department suggested local authorities in England might employ between 10,500 and 13,100 staff on the community charge in 1990–91. Actual figures are not yet known.

Mr. French

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will modify the administrative arrangement for the community charge so that individual local authorities collect only that part of the charge which relates to their own expenditure.

Mr. Chope

No. Apportioning collection to each of district, county, fire and police authorities could only increase bureaucracy and costs.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is taking action to ensure that the levying of the poll tax is ratified by the Cornish Stannary Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Chope

No, because such action is unnecessary.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish all poll tax figures known to his Department throughout the United Kingdom where local authorities have to date settled the level for their area; and by how much each figure diverges from the Government's proposed level.

Mr. David Hunt

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) on 21 February,Official Report, column 741.

Mr. Chris Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will update the answer about the relationship of rates and community charge to net household income given to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) of 12 January 1989,Official Report, column 732–34.

Mr. Chope

The information requested is not at present available.

Mr. Madel

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department issues as to whether people who choose to pay their community charge by monthly instalments and are themselves paid at the end of each month are able to opt to pay the community charge at the end of the month; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Chope

Advice to charging authorities on the collection of the community charge is contained in practice note No. 12, copies of which are in the Library of the House. Section 4 of that note deals with the exercise of the charging authority's discretion to enter into flexible payment arrangements for chargepayers. There is nothing to prevent charging authorities and chargepayers entering into agreements to pay in the way suggested by my hon. Friend.

Mr. Harry Barnes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, if he will assist local government authorities in England and Wales to issue their final and authoritative accounts for community charge payments by listing his decisions for and against community charge capping for each precepting authority.

Mr. Chope

My right hon. Friend has made it clear that he will not hesitate to cap any authorities in England budgeting excessively for 1990–91. We are now looking at the precepts authorities have issued, but it would not be right for me to speculate on which authorities would be capped were we to introduce such a scheme. Welsh authorities are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Mr. Roger King

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at what level of current rate payment will a pensioner couple residing in Birmingham be eligible for transitional protection on a community charge of £406 per adult.

Mr. Chope

In a property occupied by two chargepayers the community charge transitional relief scheme provides assistance where two assumed community charges are more than £156 above the current rates bill (defined as the rateable value multiplied by the average poundage). In Birmingham the assumed community charge is £248.14. This means that in a property occupied by two chargepayers transitional relief is payable where the current rates bill is less than £340.36. If a pensioner couple has not previously paid rates or rent, transitional relief is payable on the difference between the threshold of £156 and the assumed community charge.

Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his reply of 5 March,Official Report, column 440, he will list the small minority of authorities for which he has information about the level of personal community charges.

Mr. Chope

Over two thirds of the 366 charging authorities in England have yet to provide this information to the Department. I intend to place a summary of the information returned in the Library of the House when information has been received from all authorities.

Mr. Atkinson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to amend the transitional arrangements for the community charge to take account of the actual charge set; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Chope

The community charge transitional scheme provides protection against increases in bills which would otherwise arise as a result of the structural change from the domestic rating system to the community charge. It is not designed to protect people from changes arising from individual authorities' spending decisions for which they are accountable to their electorates. The scheme therefore uses as a reference for the calculation of relief assumed community charges which are consistent with total standard spending of £32.8 billion in 1990–91. I have no plans to amend the scheme.

Sir John Stanley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the 1990–91 standard spending assessment per head of population for the Kent county council.

Mr. David Hunt

The standard spending assessment for Kent county council in 1990–91 is £671 per adult.

Sir John Stanley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make the assumed personal community charge in 1990–91 for each charging authority for the purposes of the community charge transitional relief scheme the same as its standard spending assessment figure per head where this is currently higher.

Mr. David Hunt

[holding answer 7 March 1990]: I have already set out the assumed community charges to be used in the transitional relief scheme in the community charge transitional relief report (England) laid before the House on 15 February.