§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what work has been undertaken within his Department on the effect of the Labour party's proposals for domestic rates and the Liberal Democrat proposals for local income tax; and at what cost.
§ Mr. Howard[holding answer 20 November 1992]: Both the Labour party's proposals for "fair rates" and the Liberal Democrat proposals for a local income tax were considered thoroughly during the review of local government finance in 1991 and throughout the passage of the Local Government Finance Bill.
The annual cost of the local government review was estimated to be some £1 million. It is not possible to segregate the costs of work of considering some proposals rather than others during the course of that review and the Committee stages of the Bill.