HC Deb 22 October 1990 vol 178 cc43-4W
Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce the level of the uniform business rate for 1991–92.

Mr. Portillo

My right hon. Friend hopes to announce the proposed figure shortly.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his best estimates of the actual total yield from the national non-domestic rate for the current financial year.

Mr. Portillo

I estimate that the yield from non-domestic rates in England in 1990–91 will be of the order of £10.8 billion. There are, however, several factors, such as the level of buoyancy, losses and reliefs, whose effect on the outturn cannot be predicted accurately at this stage.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his best estimates of the additional costs faced by local authorities as a result of the decision to cut the rate of subsidy for housing and poll tax benefit from 97 to 95 per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Portillo

The proposal to change the proposed rate of subsidy from 97 to 95 per cent. will reduce the amount paid to local authorities in England by about £67.5 million in 1991–92. This was taken into account by my right hon. Friend in his proposals for aggregate external finance announced on 19 July. He proposed raising AEF by 12.8 per cent.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has undertaken with local authorities on(a) the impact of the cut in the rate of subsidy for housing and poll tax benefit and (b) the way in which this could be taken into account in setting the level of rate support grant for 1991–92.

Mr. Portillo

We shall be consulting the local authority assocations formally about the proposals for revenue support grant for 1991–92 next month. The proposed level of aggregate external finance announced on 19 July took account of the proposed change in the rate of housing and community charge benefit subsidy.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what account is to be taken of the likely surplus in national non-domestic rate income in 1990–91 and 1991–92 in setting the totals for NNDR and RSG for 1991–92; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what consultations he has undertaken on the use of income from the national non-domestic rate which exceeds the planned distributable amount for 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Portillo

As required by schedule 8 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988, in setting his forecast of the distributable amount of non-domestic rates for 1991–92 my right hon. Friend will take account of the amount of rates likely to be collected for 1991–92 and any anticipated surplus in 1990–91 in the amount actually collected over the amount distributed. The level of revenue support grant will be the amount necessary to be added to the distributable amount and the specific and special grants to bring the total of aggregate external finance to £26.05 billion. In announcing that level of AEF, which my right hon. Friend proposed on 19 July, he took account of the likely surplus in 1990–91.