HC Deb 26 February 1991 vol 186 cc419-20W
Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average level of community charge in England for 1990–91.

Mr. Key

It is £357.

Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the average level of community charge in England for 1990–91, if the amount of revenue support grant, or its equivalent, paid to local authorities had been maintained at its 1978–79 level in real terms.

Mr. Key

The rate support grant payable in 1978–79 is equivalent to £16,612 million in 1990–91 prices. If this amount had been paid as revenue support grant in 1990–91, other things being equal, the average community charge would have been £152. This estimate takes no account of changes in function since 1978–79, such as the transfer of polytechnics out of the local authority sector, and assumes that none of the benefit of the additional grant would go to non-domestic ratepayers.

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether builders are liable to standard poll tax on properties on which completion certificates have not been issued and which do not meet the requirements of section 604 of the Housing and Local Government Act 1985 and public health regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: The standard community charge may be payable on domestic property which is not any person's sole or main residence. However, we have provided that no standard charge is payable, for example, on property whose erection is not substantially completed or which is undergoing structural alteration or when less than six months have elapsed since its erection or structural alteration was substantially completed. Furthermore, no standard charge is payable where a property is kept unoccupied because a local or public authority has prohibited its occupation.

Dr. Hampson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the gross sum raised by the community charge in England; and what is the amount in England raised locally for schools and further education.

Mr. Key

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: The latest estimate of the amount which will be raised from the community charge in 1990–91 is £12.377 billion.

Income from the community charge is raised in support of local authority services generally. It is not possible to say what proportion is raised in support of particular services, but schools and further education account for 46 per cent. of budgeted net current expenditure by local authorities in 1990–91.

Mr. David Porter

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the statutory provisions that relate to payments by a community charge payer in 1991–92 of payments for those who have defaulted on the 1990–91 charge; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: Under section 89 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, every charging authority keeps a collection fund into which are paid community charges, non-domestic rates and grant, and from which are met precepts and charging authorities' own demands for revenues. Non-payment of the charge may result in a deficit on the collection fund at the year end.

In setting an amount for its community charge for a year under section 37 of the Act, the charging authority must take account of such part of any deficit on the collection fund for the previous year as relates to charges that it estimates will be uncollectable. To the extent that it estimates that the charges for the previous year are collectable, the deficit on the collection fund can be made up by means of temporary borrowing under part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and is not taken into account in setting the charge for the following year.