§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how local authorities are compensated for properties exempted from 677W council tax on the grounds that they consist of student households; and what his estimate is of (a) the numbers of such properties and (b) the council tax revenue lost in 2000–01 for each local authority in England. [10940]
§ Dr. WhiteheadLocal authorities receive an additional amount of revenue support grant to compensate them for properties exempted from the council tax because they consist of student households. Such properties are exempt from council tax because, unlike other people on low incomes, full-time students are not normally entitled to council tax benefit.
We do not have information for 2000–01 on the number of such properties for each local authority in England. We are, however, collecting it for the current year. We estimate that around 120.000 properties in England qualify for the exemption in 2001–02, and that the council tax income forgone as a result is about £90 million.