§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how claims for personal discounts in respect of the council tax are to be checked by local authorities.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if estate agents will be used by the valuation office of the Inland Revenue to assign properties to bands during the initial banding process for the council tax;
(2) what role the regional assessors will play in the initial banding of properties for the new council tax;
(3) if he will list the private sector professionals to be used by the valuation office of the Inland Revenue in the initial banding of properties for the council tax, as referred to in paragraph 2.29 of the Government's consultation paper.
§ Mr. LangConsultations are continuing on the arrangements for valuing properties for the council tax and final decisions have still to be taken.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an estimate for the proportion of householders who will appeal against the band they are assigned to during the initial valuation process for the Government's council tax.
§ Mr. LangIt is not possible to forecast the number of appeals which might be made as a result of the initial valuation process for the council tax. A banding system should lead to fewer appeals than any system, such as rates, which is based upon individual valuations, and will reduce the need for revaluations.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how local authorities will reassess liability for the council tax if someone moves into or out of a property during the course of the year.
§ Mr. LangWhile the Government see some attractions in an annual basis of liability, except in clearly defined circumstances such as the death of someone in the household, a final decision will be taken in light of consultation.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland will pay the council tax; and how many people in Scotland paid rates in the last year when they were levied.
§ Mr. LangThe number of domestic properties which were potentially subject to rates in 1988–89 was 2.1 million. This figure includes, however, empty properties and other properties in respect of which no rates were payable. Under the council tax, the householder will be responsible for paying a single bill for each household and the number of people directly liable to pay the tax will, therefore, be equivalent to the number of households that there are when the tax is introduced, less adjustments for households for which no tax is payable. The personal element of the tax will ensure that about 90 per cent. of adults in Scotland will be taken into account by the new tax.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whethev there will be additional funding from central540W Government to fund the relief scheme referred to in paragraph 8.2 of the Government's consultation paper on the council tax.
§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of domestic residences in each of the property value bands of the proposed council tax in Scotland.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe table gives the estimates used for the calculation of illustrative council tax bills for Scotland.
Property value band in relation to average capital value Upper properly value in band £ Number of properties in Scotland (thousand) A. under 50 per cent. 27,000 428 B. 50 to 65 per cent. 35,000 309 C. 65 to 85 per cent. 45,000 426 D. 85 to 110 percent. 58,000 310 E. 110 to 150 per cent. 80,000 273 F. 150 to 200 percent. 106,000 161 G. over 200 per cent. over 106,000 183 Total all bands 2,090