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Agricultural Development Advisery ServiceSupport Staff
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what account has been taken by his Department of the conditions of service of support staff following the establishment of the Agricultural Development Advisery Service as a Government agency in April.
Mr. Curry : ADAS support staff remain civil servants, subject to civil service terms and conditions of service. As civil servants, staff are eligible to move between the agency and MAFF, the Welsh Office or other Government Departments, for example, for career development.
Horse Manure
Mr. Alex Carlisle : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has which would prohibit the sale of horse manure for spreading on private gardens ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I have no such proposals and have no intention of doing so.
Market Testing
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the individuals or organisations from the private sector who have been involved since 18 November 1991 (a) in determining areas within his Department for market testing or contracting out or (b) who have advised him of areas that should be market tested or contracted out to market consultants ; the total fees or other costs to date charged to his Department by them and the full costs likely to be charged.
Mr. Curry : None. The Department is in the process of awarding a contract covering a preliminary exercise to assist with the selection of areas for more detailed examination.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list any areas within his Department that have been identified since 18 November (a) by individuals or organisations from the private sector or (b) otherwise as possibly suitable for market testing and contracting out ; and what steps are being taken to prevent any non- governmental organisations successfully tendering to carry out work currently undertaken by civil servants facing a conflict of interest between the public interest requirement of this work and other commercial activities they are involved in or other clients they represent.
Mr. Curry : No individuals or organisations from the private sector have identified any areas within the Department since 18 November 1991.
As indicated in the "Competing for Quality" White Paper, the Department already has a programme for extending competition through market testing. Since publication of the White Paper, our officials have been reviewing further areas that could be considered suitable for market testing.
The Department is conscious of the risk that conflicts of interest could arise as a result of contracting work out. The risk would be assessed very carefully on a case-by-case basis both in framing invitations to tender and in attaching conditions to any contracts subsequently awarded.
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Fish Conservation
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is yet able to draw up a detailed commissioning scheme to secure access to EC funding for British fishermen.
Mr. Curry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Minister gave on 27 February to the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) at column 612-14.
Intervention Stores, Coventry
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the EC intervention stores located within 20 miles of Coventry and tabulate the tonnage, value and type of stock held at each ; how many storehouses for EC surplus foodstuffs there are in Britain ; and what is the aggregate tonnage, value and type of the stocks they hold.
Mr. Curry : Since the question concerns matters which are the direct responsibility of the chief executive of the Intervention Board executive agency, I am asking him to write directly to the hon. Member.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Restrictive Covenants
31. Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received about the law on restrictive covenants ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The Lord Chancellor has received around 100 letters from Members of Parliament and the public expressing a range of views on the Law Commission's report on obsolete restrictive covenants published in July 1991.
West Midlands Police
33. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects to reach a decision regarding prosecutions of West Midlands police officers arising from the West Yorkshire inquiry.
The Attorney-General : The Crown prosecution service will take these decisions when consideration is completed of 73 files submitted to CPS headquarters by the West Yorkshire inquiry team.
Legal Aid
34. Mr. Jessel : To ask the Attorney-General what is the current annual cost of legal aid.
The Attorney-General : In the financial year 1990-91 expenditure on legal aid in England and Wales was £852 million gross and £684 million net. In addition, for the same period £33 million was spent on legal aid administration. In the current financial year it is estimated that expenditure will be around £1,150 million gross and around £900 million net plus £39 million on legal aid administration.
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Maxwell Pension Funds
35. Mr. Hind : To ask the Attorney-General if the Director of the Serious Fraud Office has reached any decision on prosecutions relating to the Maxwell Communication Corporation and Mirror Group of companies pension funds ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney General : No decision on prosecutions has yet been made. Inquiries will continue for some time.
Serious Fraud Office
36. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a further statement about the work of the Serious Fraud Office.
The Attorney-General : The aims of the Serious Fraud Office remain to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system in dealing with serious fraud, thereby detering fraud and maintaining confidence in our financial systems. The Serious Fraud Office has, since its inception, prosecuted 171 individual defendants of whom 115 were convicted on one or more charges (67 per cent. of those brought to trial). Establishment of the Serious Fraud Office brought together the skills of several disciplines in a way which has made it possible successfully to investigate cases which previously might have proved impenetrable. The Serious Fraud Office has utilised modern technology extensively to ensure that cases can be presented succinctly and clearly to juries. Suggestions of overcharging are fallacious. Of the 20 cases since September 1990 in which the jury were asked to return verdicts, six indictments contained one count only and only three indictments involved in excess of 12 counts. Each of those three indictments related to investor fraud involving up to several hundred instances of alleged criminal conduct.
37. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Attorney-General what recent representations he has received about the operation of the Serious Fraud Office.
The Attorney-General : In 1992 I have received seven parliamentary questions on a variety of subjects which fall under the broad heading of representations about the operation of the Serious Fraud Office. Those are in addition to the questions on today's Order Paper. I have also received representations from one hon. Member and one constituent.
Immigration
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Attorney-General, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey of 17 February, Official Report, column 19 , what plans his Department has to speed up the determination of appeals against refusals of applications for visitors' visas by visitors to the United Kingdom from Bangladesh.
The Attorney-General : The Lord Chancellor's Department plans to increase by 10 per cent. the staffing resources available to the immigration appellate authorities (IAA), and is improving and expanding the IAA's existing accommodation to provide more hearing rooms for adjudicators. Furthermore, a multi-terminal case-tracking computer system has recently been installed.
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These measures will help the IAA to tackle more effectively their rising workload, including visitor visa appeals from Bangladesh.High Court Judges
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Attorney-General how many High Court judges are (a) men and (b) women.
The Attorney-General : As at 1 March there were 83 High Court judges in office, of which 81 were men and two were women. In addition, a further female High Court judge, Mrs. Justice Ebsworth, is being sworn in today.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Market Testing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme ; and whether the appointment in each case was the result of competitive tendering.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte has been retained to conduct a single study, in conjunction with an internal review team, to advise me on the future market testing programme for my Department as a whole. It was selected through competitive tendering.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the individuals or organisations from the private sector who have been involved since 18 November 1991 (a) in determining areas within the Department for market testing or contracting out or (b) who have advised him of areas that should be market tested or contracted out to market consultants ; the total fees or other costs charged to the Department by them to date and the full costs likely to be charged.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte has been retained to conduct a study, in conjunction with an internal review team, to advise me on the future market testing programme for my Department. The review is not yet complete and no decisions have been taken on areas that are suitable for market testing. The value of contracts is a matter of commercial and contractual confidentiality.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list any areas within his Department that have been identified since 18 November (a) by individuals or organisations from the private sector or (b) otherwise as possibly suitable for market testing and contracting out ; and what steps are being taken to prevent any non- governmental organisations successfully tendering to carry out work currently undertaken by civil servants facing a conflict of interest between the public interest requirement of this work and other commercial activities they are involved in or other clients they represent.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : In reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 5 December at column 219, I set out plans for further private sector involvement in court escorts, custody and security and in prison management.
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Private sector consultants, together with an internal review team, are conducting a study to advise me on my Department's overall market testing programme, but their work has not yet been completed. Contracting out of Home Office work to the private sector is carried out in accordance with guidance issued by the Treasury's public competition and purchasing unit.Dorset Police
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the increase in police manpower in Dorset since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Dorset police had 1,280 police officers at the end of December 1991, 140 more than in May 1979. The authorised establishment of the force will increase by 15 police posts to 1,302 with effect from 1 April 1992.
Effra House
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what decision he has taken on funding by his Department for 36 bed spaces at Effra house, 45 Effra road, London, SW2 ; and what representations he has received from the Effra Trust on that subject.
Mr. John Patten : The Home Office provides funding for 25 of the 26 bed spaces run by the Effra Trust at five different addresses including 45 Effra road, London SW2. I have received representations from the Effra Trust and five other organisations based in London that the probation service should take on the care payments to residents currently paid by the Department of Social Security and due to be transferred to local authorities in April 1993. I shall be replying shortly.
Professional Jurors
Mr. Beaumont-Dark : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to introduce professional jurors in serious fraud cases.
Mr. John Patten : We have no plans to do so. The procedures for serious fraud cases will be kept under review, taking account of anything which might be said by the Royal Commission on criminal justice.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number of immigration and customs officials will be permanently in place upon the opening of the channel tunnel.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The staffing levels which will be required when the channel tunnel opens will depend upon the nature and frequency of the services which will use it at that time and the estimated passenger volumes. These are matters about which officials are in touch with the service operators, but it is still too early to put a figure on the staffing requirement.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) summonses and (b) liability orders have been issued for poll tax debt in (i) England and (ii) Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. John Patten : About 11 million summonses have been issued alleging non-payment of community charge during the period 1 April 1990 to 31 December 1991, about 10.4 million in England and 0.6 million in Wales. During the same period about 8.1 million liability orders were made, 7.7 million in England and 0.4 million in Wales. In both cases, some will have involved the same persons in respect of different financial years.
Drug-related Crime
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of crime which is drug-related.
Mr. John Patten : The latest estimates are published in paragraph 2.4 of the 1991 report "Drug Misusers and the Criminal Justice System : Part 1 Community resources and the probation service" by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, a copy of which is in the Library. These however relate only to heroin misusers and do not include estimates for crimes by other drug misusers.
Wolds Prison
Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the total estimated cost of running Wolds prison during the financial year 1992-93 ; and how much of the total will be met by the remand contract unit.
Mrs. Rumbold : The estimated cost of running Wolds prison in 1992-93 will be published in the "Supply Estimate" on Budget day.
Police Forces
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) women and (b) men are employed by each police force in Britain ; at what grade they are employed ; and what percentage this is at each grade.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.
Re-offenders on Bail
Mr. Andrew Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the West Midlands police force area have committed offences while on bail during 1991, or for the latest year available.
Mr. John Patten : The requested information is not available.
Football Stadia
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the Football Stadia Advisory Design Council.
Mr. John Patten : This body was set up and funded jointly by the Football Association and the Football League following a recommendation of Lord Justice Taylor in his report on the Hillsborough disaster. He recommended that the council should : (a) conduct and marshal research into the improvement and design of football stadia and
(b) disseminate regularly such information and expertise as they acquire in this field to members of the Football League and, on request, to other football and sports clubs in England, Wales and Scotland.
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The council has already published some helpful guidance and I understand that discussions as to its future role are taking place with the Football Association.Magistrates Courts
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his latest estimate of the average cost per sitting hour of a magistrates court.
Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January at column 415.
Electoral Registration
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision exists for homeless people to register ; what guidance has been given to electoral registration officers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, in order to be entitled to vote a person must be resident at an address in a constituency or electoral area on the qualifying date of 10 October, and must be registered there as an elector. The question of whether someone can be regarded as resident for registration purposes is determined not by the nature of the accommodation but by the permanence of his or her residence at a particular place. No guidance has been issued to electoral registration officers on registering homeless people.
Mr. Delroy McKnight
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish, and in what form, the results of his investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Delroy McKnight in Wandsworth prison ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold [holding answer 27 February 1992] : Any death in custody is the cause of very great concern, to the Prison Service and to the public. In addition to the full public inquest, a careful review is carried out by prison management in each case to see whether there are any practical lessons which can be learned. It would not be appropriate to publish such reports routinely. The death of Delroy McKnight, however, revealed very serious inadequacies in the quality of care which, on this occasion, required a further and more detailed investigation. Following the inquest, which was held in March 1991, the director of prison medical services therefore established a working group to study the events leading to Mr. McKnight's death and make recommendations for change. The group, which was chaired by Dr. Michael Longfield, a principal medical officer within the medical directorate, submitted its report last November. In view of the seriousness of this case, I am now, exceptionally, arranging for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.
The report makes 17 recommendations, the majority of which are concerned with specific practical changes in working procedures at Wandsworth and other establishments at which Mr. McKnight was in custody. The recommendations aim particularly at improving communication and continuity in the clinical management of
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prisoners, for example by ensuring full documentation of all decisions, clear understanding by all staff of their responsibilities and regular multi-disciplinary reviews of the needs of prisoners who appear to be at risk of self-harm or are receiving treatment for psychiatric problems. Almost all the recommendations addressed to establishments have already been implemented. The local suicide prevention management group at Wandsworth has brought about substantial improvements in suicide prevention policy and procedure since Mr. McKnight's tragic death.In addition, the report makes several recommendations about general matters of health care management within the Prison Service, which are under active consideration within the medical directorate in the context of the follow- up to the scrutiny of the prison medical service.
Mortality Statistics (Public Streets)
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the figures for deaths on public streets in London due to causes other than violence or road traffic accidents for the period 1 October 1990 to 30 April 1991.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
The information requested could be provided only at
disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what are the figures for deaths on public streets in England and Wales due to hypothermia, malnutrition or self-neglect in the period from 1 October 1990 to 30 April 1991 ;
(2) what are the figures for deaths on public streets in London due to hypothermia, malnutrition or self-neglect in the period from 1 October 1990 to 30 April 1991 ;
(3) what are the figures for deaths on public streets in England and Wales due to (a) hypothermia, (b) malnutrition or (c) self-neglect in the year ended 31 December 1991 or the most recent available period.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
There were no deaths on the public streets in England and Wales due to hypothermia, malnutrition or self-neglect registered in the period 1 October 1990 to 30 September 1991.
There were nine deaths registered due to these causes of persons of no known address, of which five were in Greater London and four elsewhere in England and Wales.
All of the deaths occurred between 1 October 1990 and 30 April 1991 and of these, six died in hospital and three elsewhere.
Prison Suicides
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of suicides in prisons in England and Wales during the year 1991 ; and if he will list the prisons and the number of suicides that took place within them.
Mrs. Rumbold [pursuant to her reply, 22 January 1992, c. 191-92] :
The total number of deaths in 1991 which resulted from an act of deliberate self-harm was 42 and not 41. The adjustment to the figure is necessary following the recent inquest into the death of a man at Cardiff prison in
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October 1991, which was not initially thought to have been self-inflicted. Further evidence came to light at the inquest, however, and a verdict of "suicide while the balance of his mind was disturbed" was recorded.Inquests have now been held on 29 of these deaths and a verdict of suicide was recorded for 23. The establishments at which the deaths occurred are listed in the table.
Deaths at HM Prison Service Establishments
in 1991 resulting from
an act of deliberate self-harm.
Establishment |Numbers of
|deaths
--------------------------------------------
Birmingham |3
Bristol |1
Brixton |1
Cardiff |2
Dorchester |1
Durham |1
Featherstone |1
Feltham |2
Full Sutton |2
Garth |1
Glen Parva |1
Gloucester |1
Grendon |2
Haverigg |1
Leeds |2
Liverpool |3
Long Lartin |1
Manchester |2
The Mount |1
Norwich |2
Nottingham |1
Oxford |1
Parkhurst |1
Pentonville |1
Preston |1
Stafford |1
Stoke Heath |1
Wakefield |1
Wandsworth |1
Winchester |1
Wormwood Scrubs |1
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment If he will detail each local authority with the percentage of its community charge collected in 1990-91, and 1991-92 to date, in descending order of percentage collected ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I am arranging for the available information to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the proportion of local authority revenue expenditure in England financed by
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(a) Government grant, (b) non-domestic rates and (c) local domestic taxation in each year from 1978-79 to 1990-91 and estimates for 1991-92 and 1992-93.Mr. Key : The available information is as follows :
Local Authority Revenue Expenditure<1>
|Government |Non-domestic |Domestic
|grants<2> as |rates<3> as |rates/
|percentage of|percentage of|community
|local |local |charges<4> as
|authority |authority |percentage of
|expenditure |expenditure |local
|authority
|expenditure
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |56 |25 |20
1982-83 |53 |26 |21
1983-84 |54 |26 |19
1984-85 |54 |26 |20
1985-86 |54 |28 |21
1986-87 |50 |28 |22
1987-88 |49 |28 |23
1988-89 |46 |28 |25
1989-90 |44 |29 |26
1990-91 |41 |29 |28
1991-92 |52 |31 |16
<5>1992-93 |56 |29 |15
<1> For the years 1981-82 to 1989-90, local authority expenditure is
taken to be relevant expenditure' plus expenditure on certain
non-relevant items such as net expenditure on mandatory
student awards. It represents spending to be financed by rate
support grant, relevant specific grants, rates and balances. This
measure of expenditure is net of sales, fees and charges, interest
receipts etc. For the years 1990-91 to 1992-93 local authority
expenditure is revenue expenditure do compare with TSS' which
is expenditure to be met from revenue support grant, specific
grants in aggregate external finance, special grants, non-domestic
rates, community charges and appropriation from reserves. In
1991-92 ths also included community charge grant and in
1992-93 this will include teachers pay award additional grant.
<2> For the years 1978-79 to 1989-90 Government grants comprise
aggregate exchequer grant and rate rebate grants. For the years
1990-91 to 1992-93 Government Grants included are revenue
support grant, special grrants, specific grants in aggregate
external finance, community charge grant (1991-92), teachers
pay award additional grant (1992-93), community charge benefit
and transitional relief/community charge reduction scheme
grants.
<3> For the years 1981-82 to 1989-90 this represents non-domestic
rate yields net of rate relief. For the years 1990-91 to 1992-93 this
represents the distributable amount from the non-domestic rates
pool.
<4> Net of domestic rate rebates for the years 1981-82 to 1989-90,
net
of community charge benefit grant and transitional relief/
community charge scheme grant in 1990-91, 1991-92 and
1992-93.
<5> 1992-93 settlement.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the breakdown of local authority revenue for each year from 1979-80 to 1991-92 in terms of (i) Government grant, (ii) business rates and (iii) rates/poll tax expressed both in million pounds and constant prices and as a percentage.
Mr. Portillo : The available information is as follows :
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Local Authority Revenue Expenditure
Revenue Government Grants<2> Non-Domestic rates<3> Domestic Rates/
Expenditure<1> Community Charges<4>
|Cash |1991-92 |Cash |1991-92 |Cash |1991-92 |Cash |1991-92
|prices |prices |prices |prices
|£ million|£ million|£ million|£ million|Per cent.|£ million|£ million|Per cent.|£ million|£ million|Per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |20,106 |36,026 |11,234 |20,129 |56 |5,013 |8,982 |25 |4,034 |7,228 |20
1982-83 |21,952 |36,718 |11,705 |19,578 |53 |5,685 |9,509 |26 |4,548 |7,607 |21
1983-84 |23,263 |37,188 |12,584 |20,117 |54 |6,042 |9,659 |26 |4,382 |7,005 |19
1984-85 |24,119 |36,719 |13,126 |19,983 |54 |6,361 |9,684 |26 |4,707 |7,166 |20
1985-86 |24,284 |35,037 |13,069 |18,856 |54 |6,740 |9,725 |28 |5,094 |7,350 |21
1986-87 |26,630 |37,199 |13,402 |18,721 |50 |7,566 |10,569 |28 |5,912 |8,258 |22
1987-88 |28,980 |38,394 |14,274 |18,911 |49 |8,088 |10,715 |28 |6,539 |8,663 |23
1988-89 |31,240 |38,615 |14,469 |17,885 |46 |8,819 |10,901 |28 |7,689 |9,504 |25
1989-90 |33,282 |38,633 |14,707 |17,072 |44 |9,595 |11,138 |29 |8,487 |9,852 |26
1990-91 |36,448 |38,993 |15,037 |16,090 |41 |10,429 |11,159 |29 |10,109 |10,817 |28
1991-92 |39,880 |39,880 |20,834 |20,834 |52 |12,408 |12,408 |31 |6,388 |6,388 |16
Notes:
<1> For the years 1981-82 to 1989-90, local authority expenditure is taken to be relevant expenditure' plus expenditure on
certain non-relevant
items such as net expenditure on mandatory student awards. It represents spending to be financed by rate support grant, relevant
specific
grant, rates and balances. This measure of expenditure is net of sales, fees and charges, interest receipts etc. For the years
1990-91 and
1991-92 local authority expenditure is revenue expenditure to compare with TSS' which is expenditure to be met from revenue
support
grant, specific grants in aggregate external finance, special grants, non-domestic rates, community charges and appropriation
from reserves.
In 1991-92 this also included community charge grant.
<2> For the years 1981-82 to 1989-90 Government grants comprise aggregate Exchequer grant and rate rebate grants. For 1990-91 and
1991-92
Government grants included are revenue support grant, special grants, specific grants in aggregate external finance, community
charge
grant (1991-92), community charge benefit grant and transitional relief/community charge reduction scheme grant.
<3> For the years 1981-82 to 1989-90, this represents non-domestic rate yields net of rate relief. For the years 1990-91 to
1991-92 this represents
the distributable amount from the non-domestic rates pool
<4> Net of domestic rate rebates for the years 1981-82 to 1989-90. Net of community charge benefit grant and transitional
relief/community
charge reduction scheme grant for the years 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of poll tax revenue is outstanding to local authorities for 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Portillo : Local authorities budgeted to collect £10,200 million in community charges in respect of 1990-91 and £6,400 million in respect of 1991-92. I estimate that by 31 December 1991 they had collected £9,900 million of the former and £4,300 million of the latter. Much of the remaining 1991-92 amounts will subsequently have been collected in the form of routine monthly payments in January and February 1992.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what targets his Department has set for local authorities' collection of poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
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