§ Mr. Barry FieldsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications have been lodged with the valuation and community charge tribunals about the community charge; and what were the comparable figures for objections to domestic rates.
§ Mr. PortilloSome 4,230 community charge appeals have so far been lodged this year with valuation and community charge tribunals. Figures for appeals against the rateable values of domestic properties were not separately recorded, but the volume of appeals against all types of rating proposals in the past five years are set out in the table:
Number 1985 152,362 1986 172,528 1987 182,335 1988 150,647 1989 178,078
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if local authorities facing major losses of business rate income in their area in the course of a year will be required to make good the shortfall of increased poll tax in the following financial year.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 22 October 1990]: The cost of any non-domestic rates which are written off by charging authorities as irrecoverable will, subject to audit, be borne by the national non-domestic rate pool. The cost of failure by an authority to collect rates efficiently will fall on the authority. Conversely, if the authority collects more than the amount assumed when its contributions to the pool were fixed, its cash flow will benefit.
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§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assumptions on poll tax collection rates he intends to use in setting central Government grant levels for 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 22 October 1990]: No assumptions about community charge collection rates are needed when setting central Government grant levels.