HC Deb 14 May 1991 vol 191 cc61-2W
Mr. Fraser

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis he calculated community charge for two adults at £901 in Lambeth in the illustrative tables published with his consultation paper in the council tax.

Mr. Key

The community charge for two adults is two times the personal community charge set for the area, after allowing for the £140 reduction announced in the Budget. The final amount set will be less to the extent that reductions are secured by capping. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce his decisions on capping as soon as possible.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the council tax payable for two people in a property valued at less than £26,800 as a proportion of the council tax payable by(a) two-person household in the central band and (b) in a household in the central band as a proportion of the council tax payable by a two-person household in the top band, (i) overall and (ii) in Grimsby.

Mr. Key

Under our proposals, in every area the council tax for a property with two adults valued at less than £26,800 would be two thirds of the bill for a property in the central band; and the bill for a property in the highest band would be two thirds more than the bill for a property in the central band.

Mr. Gould

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will provide estimates of the numbers of tax units gaining and losing, and the amounts of their losses and gains, in pounds per week and as a percentage of net income (1) in the move from domestic rates to community charge, (2) in the move from community charge to council tax but retaining maximum rebates of 80 per cent. for council tax and (3) in the move from community charge to council tax, but with 100 per cent. rebates for council tax differentiating between single-pensioner tax units, one-parent family tax units, other single-adult tax units, tax unit couples with(a) no children, (b) one child, (c) two children and (d) three or more children, and all tax units;

(2) if he will provide estimates of the number of households gaining and losing, and the amounts of their losses and gains, in pounds per week and as a percentage of net income (1) in the move from domestic rates to community charge, (2) in the move from community charge to council tax but retaining maximum rebates of 80 per cent. for council tax and (3) in the move from community charge to council tax, but with 100 per cent. rebates for council tax differentiating between single pensioner households, other single-adult households, two-adult households, households of three or more adults and all households.

Mr. Portillo

The information requested is not available.

Mr. Gould

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report, on the same basis as his illustrative 1991–92 council tax exemplifications, for each authority the average amount per household (1) paid in community charge in 1991–92,(2) which would have been paid in council tax in 1991–92, (3) which would have been paid in community charge in 1991–92 for spending at standard spending assessment and (4) which would have been paid in council tax in 1991–92 for spending at standard spending assessment.

Mr. Portillo

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 1991 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter), at column12.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to a 14-band property tax as a means of financing local government.

Mr. Portillo

[holding answer 13 May 1991]: None.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations underlay his decision to make a de minimis provision of £10,000 in his statement of 3 April on charge-capping; and if he will list the local authorities that would have been designated for capping had this provision not been included.

Mr. Portillo

[holding answer 13 May 1991]: Five authorities set budgets which exceeded the provisional criteria announced on 31 October 1990 by less than £10,000. In each case the maximum reduction in community charge bills secured by capping would have been less than 10p. The five authorities are: Brighton, Buckinghamshire, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham and the West Midlands police authority.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish his best estimates of the total amount of poll tax income that local authorities have been unable to collect in the financial year 1990–91;

(2) what are his best estimates of unpaid non-domestic taxes at the end of the financial year 1990–91.

Mr. Portillo

[holding answer 13 May 1991]: On the basis of the returns received so far, we estimate that by 31 March 1991 local authorities in England had collected £8.6 billion in non-domestic rates, equivalent to 94 per cent. of the provisional contribution to the non-domestic rates pool.

On the basis of the same returns, we also estimate that by 31 March 1991 local authorities in England had collected £9.4 billion in community charges, equivalent to 92 per cent. of the community charge income which they budgeted to receive.

My Department does not yet have information about the amounts of non-domestic rates or community charges collectable by authorities and therefore about the amounts of rates or community charges outstanding.