Local Government Finance (Hansard, 12 November 1990)

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the distribution of changes in the percentage of net income paid in(a) domestic rates in 1989–90 and (b) community charge in 1990–91.

§ Mr. Key
An analysis showing the distributional impact of the community charge was placed in the Library on 15 February. This showed that three out of five households would pay less with the community charge than they would have paid had rates continued.

§ Mr. Fearn
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to compensate local authorities which use their discretionary powers to waive the standard community charge for people whose repossessed former home remains unsold while they are liable to the community charge at their new address.

§ Mr. Key
The method of distributing grant to local authorities does not take account of the potential for raising income through standard community charges. There is, therefore, no case for compensating local authorities if this income is reduced as a result of the proposed changes in the maximum level of the standard charge which can be levied in certain cases, or if local authorities exercise their discretion to waive charges for certain categories.

§ Mr. Fearn
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to treat overnight visitors as the equivalent of ordinary residents when calculating the standard spending assessment.

§ Mr. Key
For 1991–92 standard spending assessments my right hon. Friend proposes to treat two overnight visitors as the equivalent of one ordinary resident, for the period of their stay.

§ Mr. Nellist
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, following the reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett), 24 October, column234, he will similarly list for each authority in the West Midlands county, and for Warwickshire, the numbers of people exempt from the poll tax.

§ Mr. Key
Available information returned by local authorities is as follows:
41W

Warwickshire Nuneaton and Bedworth Rugby Stratford on Avon Warwick

Severely mentally impared 247 131 245 186

In hospital or home¹ 488 632 246 991

Aged 18 or 19² 340 252 540 960

Other³ 15 31 23 52

¹ Patients whose main residence is an NHS hospital or people whose sole or main residence is in a residential care home, a nursing home, a mental nursing home, a private hospital, or a hostel providing a substantial level of care, and who are also being treated or cared for in such an institution.

² Aged 18 who attach child benefit because they are still at school, or aged 18 or 19 and on a course of further, but not higher, education.

³ People in detention, members of visiting forces, international headquarters and defense organisations and their dependents, including diplomats. Members of religious communities. Residential care workers employed at a very low salary, and full-time students whose term time address is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. These categories have been combined because of the small numbers involved.

n/a=Not available.

§ Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his proposal to increase(a) the proportion of community charge benefit paid by district councils by 60 per cent. and (b) the percentage paid by district councils in respect of rent relief for tenants with low incomes, is intended to increase the amount of community charge which district councils have to levy compared with what would be levied without those charges; and what he estimates the effect of these measures will be, per community charge payer, in the following district council areas: Mid Devon district council, East Devon district council and Teignbridge district council.

§ Mr. Key
The reduction in the rate of subsidy for community charge benefit and some housing benefit cases from 97 to 95 per cent. was taken into account in the Government's proposals for the local authority finance settlement. The standard spending assessment for Mid Devon, East Devon, and Teignbridge district councils are provisionally estimated to rise by 28, 29 and 31 per cent. respectively to reflect, inter alia, the reduction in subsidy. There should therefore be virtually no impact on community charges.

§ Mr. Fearn
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list those local authorities in England which have sought an attachment of earnings for the recovery of the community charge before employing bailiffs to carry out the task;
(2) if he will list those local authorities in England which have taken registered community charge payers to court for non-payment.

§ Mr. Key
The Department does not have this information.

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will update the answer given to the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Thompson) on 15 February,Official Report, column 404, using actual rather than projected figures for the community charge.

§ Mr. Key
The analyses already provided offer the most valid illustration of the distributional effects of the introduction of the community charge system. Use of actual community charges would not provide a proper comparison with 1989–90 rates, since increases in local authority spending mean that the community charge is raising 30 per cent. more revenue than was raised by domestic rates.

Warwickshire	Nuneaton and Bedworth	Rugby	Stratford on Avon	Warwick
Severely mentally impared	247	131	245	186
In hospital or home¹	488	632	246	991
Aged 18 or 19²	340	252	540	960
Other³	15	31	23	52
¹ Patients whose main residence is an NHS hospital or people whose sole or main residence is in a residential care home, a nursing home, a mental nursing home, a private hospital, or a hostel providing a substantial level of care, and who are also being treated or cared for in such an institution.
² Aged 18 who attach child benefit because they are still at school, or aged 18 or 19 and on a course of further, but not higher, education.
³ People in detention, members of visiting forces, international headquarters and defense organisations and their dependents, including diplomats. Members of religious communities. Residential care workers employed at a very low salary, and full-time students whose term time address is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. These categories have been combined because of the small numbers involved.