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2 Feb 2009 : Column 948W—continued
Council Tax: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has for the electronic sharing of council tax information across public sector bodies. [252495]
John Healey: The administration of council tax is a matter for local authorities, the Valuation Office Agency, the courts and the Valuation Tribunal Service. My Department currently has no plans to seek changes to the legislative framework within which they operate so far as the electronic sharing of council tax information is concerned.
Council Tax: Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 575W, on council tax: empty property, if she will place in the Library a copy of the final report by Roger Tym and Partners. [251934]
John Healey: I have today placed in the House Library a copy of the report, “Application of Discretionary Council Tax Powers for Empty Homes”, by Roger Tym Partners in Association with Three Dragons. The report is also available on Communities and Local Government's website at:
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place to compensate local authorities which report a reduction in their council tax base because of an increase in numbers of empty residential properties. [252502]
John Healey: The distribution of Formula Grant takes into account the relative needs and relative resources of each authority, relative to all other authorities providing the same services. There is also a central allocation and the floor damping mechanism.
The relative resources component reflects the authority's potential to raise income through council tax. For multi-year settlements, this is measured by projections of the council tax base.
The council tax base is the number of Band D equivalent properties. The number of dwellings in each band is calculated by taking the number of dwellings on the valuation list and adjusting for various exemptions and discounts.
For the 2008-09 to 2010-11 settlement, the projections of the tax base were calculated using the tax base as at 8 October 2007 and then applying the average annual increase between October 2005 and October 2007.
The number of dwellings that receive a discount because they are classed as long-term empty dwellings is taken into account in the calculation of the tax base.
Council Tax: Floods
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 16 July 2008, Official Report , column 484 W, on council tax: floods, which local authorities have exercised their powers to grant council tax discounts to owners of uninhabitable properties. [252428]
John Healey: Pursuant to my answer of 16 July 2008, Official Report , column 481W,on council tax: floods, I am aware that the following local authorities have exercised their power under Section 13 A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to grant discounts to owners of properties which were still uninhabitable due to the June and July 2007 floods after the 12-month exemption period, under Class A, has lapsed.
Bassetlaw District Council
Cheltenham Borough Council
Cotswold District Council
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Forest of Dean District Council
Gloucester City Council
Herefordshire Council
Kingston upon Hull City Council
Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council
Malvern Hills District Council
Newark and Sherwood District Council
North Lincolnshire Council
North Wiltshire District Council
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Stratford-upon-Avon District Council
Swindon Borough Council
Tewkesbury Borough Council
Vale of White Horse District Council
City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
West Berkshire Council
West Oxfordshire District Council
Wokingham Borough Council
Wychavon District council
Wyre Forest District Council
Some other local authorities affected by the floods may have exercised their power to grant discretionary discounts; the Department does not have information about them.
Council Tax: Pensions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to right hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling of 18 December 2008, Official Report, columns 1045-6W, on council tax: pensions, what the (a) monetary value and (b) proportion was of local authority revenue expenditure that comprised employer’s contributions to pension funds and other retirement benefits in each year since 1996-97. [251887]
John Healey: Information on employers’ contributions to pension funds and other retirement benefits for local authorities in England for 2007-08 can be obtained from the Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing England 2007-08 Final Outturn statistical release published on CLG's website at:
Data for earlier years, where available, can be obtained from annual editions of Local Government Financial Statistics England.
Council Tax: Students
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place for her Department to review (a) provision for student discounts on council tax and (b) the manner in which local authorities with student populations are compensated in respect of the discount. [252299]
John Healey: Communities and Local Government keeps the legislative framework governing council tax under continual review, including the provisions for student discount disregards and exemptions.
The distribution of Formula Grant takes into account the relative needs and relative resources of each authority, relative to all other authorities providing the same services. There is also a central allocation and the floor damping mechanism.
The relative resources component reflects the authority's potential to raise income through council tax. For multi-year settlements, this is measured by projections of the council tax base.
The council tax base is the number of Band D equivalent properties. The number of dwellings in each band is calculated by taking the number of dwellings on the valuation list and adjusting for various exemptions and discounts.
For the 2008-09 to 2010-11 settlement, the projections of the tax base were calculated using the tax base as at the 8 October 2007 and then applying the average annual increase between October 2005 and October 2007.
The projections of council tax base used in the calculation of the 2008-09 to 2010-11 settlements also reflect an adjustment for student exemptions. This adjustment uses the average of student council tax exemption numbers from counts as at 31 May 2007 and 8 October 2007, rather than using a count solely as at 8 October 2007.
We are continuing to discuss with local government how to best reflect student exemptions in these projections for the next three-year settlement.
Council Tax: Tax Allowances
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 13 May 2008, Official Report, columns 1441-2W, on council tax: tax allowances, what types of local council tax discount were awarded in 2008; and which authorities were awarding each type of discount as at 8 October 2007. [252420]
John Healey: Details of the types of local council tax discount that were being awarded by billing authorities under the Local Government Act 2003 as at 8 October 2008, the latest date for which figures are available, are listed as follows. Authorities reported they were making local council tax discounts to either individuals or a particular class of taxpayer. The discounts shown may have been awarded by one or more authority.
Particular classes of taxpayer or property:
Difficult to let properties;
Occupied and unoccupied furnished properties that do not have the benefit of mains services including beach chalets;
Pensioners;
Properties affected by flooding;
Annexes that are not exempt and are part of the main residence;
Properties that are no one person’s sole or main residence where access is restricted;
Taxpayers who can comply with the council's Mooring Policy;
Those to whom, because they have been affected by the change in regulations since a discount was originally awarded, a discount has been awarded so as to not disadvantage them;
Various classes of empty properties.
Other discretionary discounts based on individual cases:
Hard to sell property;
Hardship;
New unfinished property;
Problems with a chalk mine.
Details of the types of local council tax discounts awarded as at 8 October 2007, and the authority awarding the discount, are shown as follows.
Bury, Hillingdon, Kirklees, Wirral.
Properties affected by flooding
Carlisle, Chelmsford, Herefordshire UA, North Tyneside, Worcester, Wyre Forest.
Various classes of empty properties
Camden, Herefordshire UA
Those to whom, because they have been affected by the change in regulations since a discount was originally awarded, a discount has been awarded so as to not disadvantage them
Adur, Bracknell Forest, Exeter, North Norfolk, Waveney.
The following types of local council tax discounts were also awarded as at 8 October 2007.
A hard to sell property;
A new unfinished property;
A property affected by the proximity of an electricity generating wind turbine;
A property damaged by fire;
Difficult to let properties;
Hardship;
Occupied and unoccupied furnished properties that do not have the benefit of mains services including beach chalets;
Problems with a chalk mine;
Properties that are no one person’s sole or main residence where access is restricted;
Single occupiers who are called up for 28 days or more as members of the reserve forces;
Taxpayers who can comply with the council’s Mooring Policy;
To a member of the RAF where redundancy was delayed owing to events abroad.
These discounts were awarded by the following authorities. It is not possible to identify which authority awarded which discount as this may allow identification of individual properties or persons.
Bridgnorth;
Brighton and Hove;
Cambridge;
Canterbury;
Copeland;
East Riding of Yorkshire UA;
Kingston upon Hull;
Leicester UA;
Malvern Hills;
Oswestry;
Purbeck;
Restormel;
Shepway;
South Holland;
South Lakeland;
Tunbridge Wells;
Welwyn Hatfield.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 298W, on council tax: valuation, which local authorities provide (a) commencement notices, (b) completion notices and (c) plans to the Valuation Office Agency for council tax valuation purposes. [252172]
John Healey: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Air Travel
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether (a) her Department's executive agencies, (b) the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department and (c) the Government Offices for the Regions offset their air travel via the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund. [252178]
Mr. Khan: Communities and Local Government's executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies and the Government offices for the regions do not offset their air travel via the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund.
The only air travel emissions offset via the Fund are from the central Department's operations.
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