§ Mr. BorrowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many staff were employed by valuation tribunals in England on(a) 1 May 1997, (b) 1 April 1998 and (c) 1 December 1998. [63691]
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§ Mr. RaynsfordThe number of full time equivalent staff employed by valuation tribunals in England on the dates were as follows:
- 1 May 1997: 242
- 1 April 1998: 225
- 1 December 1998: 211.
§ Mr. BorrowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many offices served valuation tribunals in England on(a) 1 May 1997, (b) 1 April 1998 and (c) 1 December 1998. [63692]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe number of offices serving valuation tribunals in England on the dates were as follows:
- 1 May 1997: 38
- 1 April 1998: 36
- 1 December 1998: 34.
§ Mr. BorrowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many(a) staff and (b) offices he expects to be required to serve valuation tribunals in England on (i) 1 April 1999 and (ii) 1 April 2000. [63690]
§ Mr. RaynsfordStaffing levels are primarily determined by the appeals workload. The staffing complement as at 1 April 1998, which has generally been retained for the financial year commencing 1 April 1999, is for 180 staff. Continuing reductions towards that level are dependent on local decisions by the valuation tribunals and their staff. The staffing complement from 1 April 2000 will need to take account of estimates of the number of appeals likely to arise from the non-domestic revaluation in that year.
The longer term aim is to move to a structure of 14 administrative units to serve valuation tribunals in England, with one or at most two offices per unit. Progress by the stated dates will depend on discussions with the individual valuation tribunals in each of the administrative units. We expect there to be at most 32 offices by 1 April 1999. It is impossible to be precise about the figure on 1 April 2000, because this will depend on progress locally, but it will probably number 30 or less.