§ Mr. GorstTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action he has taken following the curtailing of local authorities' ability to charge for services as a result of the 1991 McCarthy and Stone judgment;
(2) what progress has been made since the publication in 1986 of the Green Paper, "Paying for Local Government", to give local authorities powers to charge for providing services to individuals or companies.
§ Mr. BaldryUnder section 150 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Secretary of State may make regulations providing that local authorities may charge for activities not already covered by a specific charging power or duty, with the exception of functions listed in section 152.
Two new charging powers have been introduced under section 150—the Houses in Multiple Occupation (Charges for Registration Schemes) Regulations 1991 and the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993. My right hon. Friend intends to make further regulations soon which would enable authorities to charge for dealing with supplementary land search inquiries in respect of proposed property transactions. We will consult the local authority associations shortly on a number of other proposals for regulations under section 150.