§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent per mile on trunk roads in each of the Welsh counties during the last year for which figures are available; what were the corresponding figures for the previous 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsThe information is as follows:
returning eligibility for transitional relief in 1992–93 to those businesses who moved premises in 1990–91 and 1991–92.
§ Mr. David HuntTransitional relief does not attach to businesses but to the premises they occupy. The additional cost of returning transitional protection to properties where there was a change of occupier in 1990–91 or 1991–92 would be around £1 million. No estimate is possible for 1992–93.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the cost of increasing the thresholds at which Welsh businesses are eligible for the small business category of uniform business rate transitional relief, from a rateable value of £10,000 to £15,000 in the financial year 1992–93.
§ Mr. David HuntI estimate that the cost of increasing the small property threshold for uniform business rate transitional relief to £15,000 would be about £5 million in 1992–93.
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§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the cost of cancelling the announced increase in the national non-domestic rate poundage for Wales in 1992–93; and what would be the cost of reducing that increase to(a) 3 per cent., (b) 2 per cent., and (c) 1 per cent.
§ Mr. David HuntI estimate the cost of underindexing the national non-domestic rate poundage for Wales in 1992–93 would be approximately £5 million for each one percentage point. Cancelling the increase of just over 4 per cent. on the 1991–92 multiplier would cost approximately £20 million.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost in 1992–93 of extending the transitional relief scheme for the uniform business rate in Wales so that all losses are suspended in the coming financial year, while all gains continue to be phased in according to the transitional arrangements.
§ Mr. David HuntI estimate that the cost of reducing the real terms transitional limits to 0 per cent. in 1992–93 would be around £15 million.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost of lowering the maximum permissible annual increase in uniform business rate bills for Welsh businesses in(a) nominal and (b) real terms (i) for small businesses from 15 per cent. to 10 per cent. and (ii) for larger businesses, from 20 per cent. to 15 per cent. in 1992–93.
§ Mr. David HuntThe cost of lowering the maximum annual transition increase by 5 per cent. for (i) small businesses and (ii) larger businesses whether in nominal or real terms, would be about £5 million in each case, £10 million in total.