§ Ms BuckTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will rank each local authority in England by the percentage of total expenditure raised by council tax in 2001–02. [106505]
§ Mr. LeslieThe information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the spouses of servicemen deployed overseas cannot claim the sole occupier discount for council tax. [106519]
§ Mr. LeslieA full council tax bill assumes that at least two adults have their sole or main residence in a dwelling. There is a 25 per cent. discount for a dwelling that is the sole or main residence of only one person. Service personnel are treated in the same way as anyone else who is working away from home when determining their sole or main residence. When a person is employed overseas, the dwelling in which their spouse lives remains the main residence unless it can be shown that there has been a change of sole or main residence. A single person discount will not therefore apply.