§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider extending the grounds for exemption from the poll tax to include severe physical handicap as well as severe mental impairment.
§ Mr. KeyOur review of local government finance is considering all aspects of the community charge. Under the present arrangements people with disabilities may be helped by the community charge benefit disability and severe disability premiums.
§ Mr. GrahamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his policy to exempt from the poll tax wives whose husbands were sole earners and have either absconded or been jailed.
§ Mr. KeyOur review of local government finance is considering all aspects of the community charge.
§ Mr. GrahamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many ex-service men who receive a war pension are exempted from paying(a) all and (b) 80 per cent. of the poll tax; and in how many cases the war pension payable to ex-service men is taken into account in calculating the liability of the pensioner's partner for the poll tax.
§ Mr. KeyThis information is not available. Although entitlement to a war pension does not confer exemption from the personal community charge, local authorities must disregard the first £10 of and have the discretion to disregard the whole or part of the rest of a person's war disablement pension when calculating community charge benefit. If a partner is in prison, the decision whether a community charge benefit claim should be assessed on a joint basis will depend on whether, in the opinion of the local authority, the partners are still members of the same household.
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§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the actual current expenditure of each London borough per poll tax payer.
§ Mr. KeyThe available information is as follows:
Net revenue expenditure per head of relevant population Budget Estimate 1990–91 £ City of London 26,186 Camden 1,392 Greenwich 1,428 Hackney 1,802 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,460 Islington 1,563 Kensington and Chelsea 1,420 Lewisham 1,212 South wark 1,400 Tower Hamlets 1,883 Wandsworth 1,176 Westminster 1,286 Barking and Dagenham 914 Barnet 751 Bexley 757 Brent 1,230 Bromley 648 Croydon 799 Ealing 1,067 Enfield 871 Harrow 841 Havering 753 Hillingdon 885 Hounslow 1,037 Kingston-upon-Thames 818 Merton 896 Newham 1,340 Redbridge 771 Richmond-upon-Thames 733 Sutton 819 Waltham Forest 1,147 Lambeth and Haringey have not supplied figures which enable the calculation to be made.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the standard spending assessment for each London borough expressed in terms of spending per poll tax payer.
§ Mr. KeyThe standard spending assessments for each London borough for 1991–92 in pounds per charge payer are listed in the table:
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1991–92 SSA (£/adult) City of London 11,762 Camden 1,403 Greenwich 1,191 Hackney 1,920 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,335 Islington 1,551 Kensington and Chelsea 1,178 Lambeth 1,718 Lewisham 1,295 Southwark 1,455 Tower Hamlets 1,872 Wandsworth 1,262 Westminster 1,548 Barking and Dagenham 976 Barnet 882 Bexley 847 Brent 1,339 Bromley 754
1991–92 SSA (£/adult) Croydon 950 Ealing 1,187 Enfield 966 Haringey 1,345 Harrow 906 Havering 795 Hillingdon 881 Hounslow 1,011 Kingston upon Thames 885 Merton 865 Newham 1,519 Redbridge 914 Richmond upon Thames 740 Sutton 846 Waltham Forest 1,210
§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many students were estimated to be in Cambridge for the purposes of calculating the community charge; what factors have led to the increase in charge levels for 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. KeyThe number of students notified to the Department of the Environment by Cambridge city council and used for the purposes of calculating revenue support grant was 15,020. The community charge set by each district council is a matter for it to decide.
§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much assistance a couple living in a property of(a) half and (b) three quarters average rateable value in Rugby and Kenilworth will receive under the community charge reduction scheme in 1991–92.
§ Mr. KeyIf Rugby borough council sets its community charge next year at or above £332, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of half average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £272 between them and for a couple living in a property. of threequarters average rateable value, £128 between them. If Warwick council sets its community charge next year at or above £344, the reduction for a couple living in that area who have not moved since 31 March 1990 would be(a) £248 between them and (b) £80 between them.
§ Mr. NorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in Hackney were in receipt of transitional protection in 1990–91.
§ Mr. KeyNo information is available on the numbers of households in each authority area in receipt of transitional relief. Relief grant claim forms from the local authority indicate that 19,000 charge payers in Hackney have benefited from transitional relief this financial year.
§ Mr. LathamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will set out in tabular form details of the exact effects on community charge payers in(a) Charnwood borough, (b) Melton borough and (c) Rutland district councils of the community charge reduction scheme; and how many charge payers are likely to benefit in each case.
§ Mr. KeyNo information is yet available on the numbers of people in each charging authority area who will benefit from a reduction. The figures in the table show the benefit of the community charge reduction scheme in48W Charnwood, Melton and Rutland for couples who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in properties of (a) three quarters average rateable value and (b) half average rateable value for the area if the authorities concerned set a community charge in 1991–92 which is at or above their scheme charge.
Benefit for couples from 1991–92 community charge reduction scheme Scheme charge (a) (b) £ £ £ Charnwood borough 342 202 328 Melton borough 339 220 338 Rutland district 340 173 307
§ Mr. LathamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the district councils within Leicestershire which have increased their levels of community charge in 1991–92 by more than the benefit which their charge-payers have received from central funding of the safety net; to what factors he attributes these increases; and how they will be affected by the community charge reduction scheme.
§ Mr. KeyAs far as I am aware, no district council in Leicestershire has yet decided upon its community charge for 1991–92.
A list of the authorities in Leicestershire which are contributing to the safety net, together with the amount of their contributions, is given in the table. Contributions will not be required in 1991–92.
£ Blaby 881,265 Charnwood 3,208,998 Harborough 1,444,158 Hinckley and Bosworth 505,101 Oakby and Wigston 502,287 Rutland 684,308 Entitlement to reductions under the community charge reduction scheme will be based on the scheme listed in the Community Charge Reduction Scheme Report (England), laid before Parliament on 18 February, or the local authority's set charge in 1991–92, whichever is the lower.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his estimate of the number of local authorities who will receive special grant payments for income forgone because of exempting Gulf personnel from the poll tax;
(2) if he intends to publish any further details on the operation of the scheme to compensate local authorities for income forgone due to exempting Gulf personnel from the poll tax; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloThe number of authorities which will benefit from the scheme is not yet known. Further details of the operation of the scheme will be issued shortly, following discussions between my Department and the local authority associations.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the information available, including forecasts, from the capital monitoring returns from local authorities on the likely level of(a) housing capital receipts, (b) non-housing capital receipts and (c) 49W all capital receipts generated in 1990–91 in (i) England and (ii) in each class of authority; and what is the amount that will have to be set aside as provision for credit liabilities.
§ Mr. PortilloThe quarterly capital payments return (CPR2) submitted by local authorities covers outturn data for April to September 1990–91 and provides a forecast for the whole of 1990–91. The returns made by local authorities together with estimates for non-response suggest the likely level of all capital receipts generated in 1990–91 to be as follows:
£million County councils 284 Metropolitan districts 697 London boroughs 873 Non-Metropolitan districts 1,558 Other authorities 218 All England 3,629 Local authorities report that of the £3,629 million they expect to receive in 1990–91, £1,195 million will be usable capital receipts, hence the reserved part will be £2,434 million which must be set aside as provision for credit liabilities.
Local authorities are not required to provide separate forecasts for housing and non-housing capital receipts.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details of the information sent to local authorities during February on the treatment of service men in the Gulf regarding poll tax liability.
§ Mr. PortilloMy Department has not issued any such advice to local authorities during February. On 19 February my right hon. Friend the Member for Henley explained to the House that it was the Government's intention that soldiers and associated civilians posted to the Gulf should not pay the charge for the duration of their posting. In the light of the recent High Court judgment in the case of Bradford MBCv. Andersons we are currently considering what steps need to be taken to realise this objective.
§ Mr. DunnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much assistance a couple living in a property of half average rateable value in Sevenoaks will receive under the community charge reduction scheme in 1992.
§ Mr. KeyIf Sevenoaks council sets its community charge next year at or above £281, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of half average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £221 between them.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for(a) each local authority, (b) each class of authority and (c) England as a whole the capital receipts accumulated by 31 March 1990 and his best estimates of the amount set aside as provision for credit liabilities in 1990–91 from (i) housing capital receipts, (ii) non-housing capital receipts and (iii) all capital receipts.
§ Mr. PortilloI have today arranged for the available information to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost of implementing and50W administering the community charge in each of the 32 London boroughs and in the City of London (i) during 1989–90 and (ii) during 1990–91, (a) funded by the Government and (b) in fact incurred; and what is the estimate of the cost of the same activity for each of the same local authorities for the financial year 1991–92.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost to his Department of(a) implementing and (b) monitoring the community charge in England in the financial years (i) 1989–90 and (ii) 1990–91; and what is his estimate of the cost for 1991–92.
§ Mr. Key[holding answer, 1 March 1991]: The information is not available in the form requested. The outturn costs for 1989–90 and 1990–91 and estimated costs for 1991–92, excluding accommodation, publicity and publications, of the local government finance policy directorate in my department, which deal with all aspects of local government finance, including the community charge, are as follows:
£000s Total 1989–90 2,591 1990–91 2,705 1991–92 2,983
§ Mrs. CurrieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for every year since 1975 the total spent by local authorities in cash and real terms, and the proportions of funds from Government, from business and from households or individuals with an estimate for 1990–91.
§ Mr. Key[holding answer 26 February 1991]: The available information is as follows:
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Local authority net expenditure financed from relevant grants, rates and balances Cash At 1990–91 prices England and Wales £ million England £ million England and Wales £ million England £ million 11975–76 10,102 — 36,534 — 1976–77 11,293 — 35,972 — 1977–78 12,195 — 34,169 — 1978–79 13,631 — 34,445 — 1979–80 15,956 — 34,556 — 1980–81 19,307 — 35,336 — 1981–82 21,314 20,106 35,574 33,558 1982–83 — 21,952 — 34,209 1983–84 — 23,263 — 34,650 1984–85 — 24,119 — 34,188 21985–86 — 24,284 — 32,644 1986–87 — 26,629 — 34,614 1987–88 — 28,943 — 35,678 1988–89 — 31,334 — 35,998 31989–90 — 33,403 — 36,075 41990–91 — 36,434 — 36,434 1 Figures for 1975–76 are estimates 2 London Regional Transport excluded from 1985–86 3 Polytechnics excluded from 1989–90 4 Revenue expenditure to compare with TSS
Proportions met by relevant grants and rates Government grants1 as percentage of local authority expenditure Non-domestic rates2 as percentage of local authority expenditure Domestic rates/community charges3 as percentage of local authority expenditure 41975–76 67 23 14 41976–77 66 22 14 41977–78 63 23 17 41978–79 61 22 16 41979–80 60 22 17 41980–81 59 23 17 1981–82 56 25 20 1982–83 53 26 21 1983–84 54 26 19 1984–85 54 26 20 1985–86 54 28 21 1986–87 50 28 22 1987–88 49 28 23 1988–89 46 28 24 1989–90 44 28 25 1990–91 42 29 28 1 For the years 1975–76 to 1989–90 Government grants comprise aggregate Exchequer grant and rate rebate grants. For 1990–91 Government grants are made up of revenue support grant, special grants, specific grants, aggregate external finance, community charge benefits and transitional relief grants. 2 Net of rate rebates. 3 Net of rate rebates for the years 1979–80 to 1989–90. Net of community charge benefits and transitional relief in 1990–91. 4 England and Wales.
§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the proportion of local government income, and the amount, which comes from charges or fees payable by users of local authority services; what are the average figures for local authorities; and what is the range of such figures.
§ Mr. KeyThe latest year for which information is available on the levels of fees and charges is 1988–89. The total amount of income met from fees and charges, excluding rents, over all accounts in 1988–89 for the English local authorities was £3,584 million. This represented 8 per cent. of total revenue income for that year.
The average income from fees and charges for all the English local authorities, including the passenger transport authorities, waste regulation and disposal authorities etc., was £7,239,000. The range spanned a minimum of less than £1,000 to a maximum of £90,211,000 for ILEA.
§ Mr. CabornTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of local authority income was provided or will be provided for each year from 1979–80 to 1991–92 by(a) rate or revenue support grant, (b) domestic rates or poll tax, and (c) non-domestic rates or receipts from the non-domestic rate pool, for (i) the York city council area and (ii) England as a whole.
§ Mr. Key[holding answer 19 February 1991]: Under the old system of local government finance rate support grant was not paid in respect of local authority areas. It is not possible to estimate the proportion of rate support grant paid to North Yorkshire county council which relates to the area of York city council. The estimated amounts of rate income for the area are shown in the table: 52W
York City Council £ million Domestic rate income Non-domestic rate income 1983–84 6.6 9.4 1984–85 7.2 10.2 1985–86 7.9 10.9 1986–87 9.3 12.7 1987–88 10.7 14.4 1988–89 12.1 16.5 1989–90 13.6 18.3 No figures are available for rate income for York city council before 1983–84.