§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on each local authority of returning non-domestic rates to local government; [18346]
(2) what plans he has to incorporate a resource equalisation scheme into the SSA in respect of the return of non-domestic rates to local authorities. [18347]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Government will be publishing shortly a consultation paper on options for the localisation of non-domestic rates. The effects on individual authorities will depend on the specifications of the scheme, which will not be decided until after we have seen the responses to the consultation. However, resource equalisation between authorities will clearly remain essential.