§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 April 2001, to my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Sir M. Spicer),Official Report, column 301W, on foot and mouth, (1) if he will list by valuation office area the number of appeals (a) made and (b) decided to date; [158677]
(2) if he will instruct the Valuation Office Agency to determine appeals for a temporary reduction in rating assessments on the ground of the impact of foot and mouth within two months of such appeals being made. [158672]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 23 April 2001]: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is continuing to receive appeals on a daily basis. It is not possible to give a final figure.
The VOA will prioritise dealing with these applications. They are consulting, as a matter of urgency, members of the National Ratepayers Valuation Forum and representatives of business and professional bodies, local authorities and valuation tribunals on the approach and timetable for this work.