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145W
Written Answers
26 OCTOBER 2009
Written Answers
146W
revisions to the code of recommended practice on local
authority publicity. These responses did not show any
widespread concern about council freesheets and newsletters.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government (1) when he
expects to reply to the letter of 24 July 2009 from the
hon. Member for Billericay on funding for the Decent
Homes programme; [295317]
(2) when he expects to reply to the letters of 19
August and 22 September 2009 from the hon. Member
for Billericay regarding his constituents, Ms Watson
and Mr. Judd. [295320]
John Healey: I have now replied to the hon. Member’s
letters.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government in what month in
2009 his Department plans to start publishing figures
on the number of households which have received
support from the Homeowner Mortgage Support
Scheme. [290476]
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government when he expects
to publish figures on the take-up of the Homeowner
Mortgage Support Scheme. [292461]
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government how many people
in each London borough have (a) applied for and (b)
been granted assistance under the Homeowners Mortgage
Support Scheme in each quarter since the scheme’s
inception; and if he will make a statement. [293049]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Members to the answer
I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds,
West (John Battle) on 21 October 2009, Official Report,
column 1506.
Non-Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government what estimate he
has made of (a) net and (b) gross revenue from
business rates in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10
and (iv) 2010-11. [294463]
Barbara Follett: Details of the gross and net revenue
(in £ millions) from business rates in (i) 1998-99, (ii)
2008-09, (iii) 2009-10 are shown in the following table.
Data for 1997-98 are not available.
Gross revenue
£ million
Net revenue
1998-99 12,950 11,445
2008-09 20,638 19,072
2009-10 22,473 20,623
2010-11 23,445 —
Data for 1998-99, 2008-09 and 2009-10 are taken
from the local lists and are collected on national nondomestic
rates (NNDR1 and NNDR3) returns completed
by all billing authorities in England. Data for 1998-99
and 2008-09 are outturn data; data for 2009-10 are
budget data. NNDR data for 2010-11 are not yet available.
However an estimate of the gross revenue for 2010-11
has been provided using the figure used in consulting on
the 2010 revaluation transitional arrangements. This
figure assumed zero inflation. No estimates have been
made of the net revenue figure for 2010-11. The 2010-11
data were calculated on a different basis to those collected
on the NNDR forms and so the figures are not strictly
comparable.
The data for 2008-09 are published in Table 1 of the
statistical release “National non-domestic rates collected
by local authorities in England 2008-09”.
The data for 2009-10 are published in Table 1 of the
statistical release “National non-domestic rates to be
collected by local authorities in England 2009-10”.
Both these releases are available on the Communities
and Local Government website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/
localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/
nondomesticrates/
The data for 2010-11 are published in Table 1 of the
consultation paper “The Transitional Arrangements for
the Non-domestic Rating Revaluation” published on
8 July 2009. This paper can be found on the Communities
and Local Government website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/
localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010
Gross revenue is defined as the yield from non-domestic
rates that could be collected in the year, irrespective of
the year to which it relates, before the deduction of
reliefs and before any allowances for the cost of collection.
Net revenue is defined as the yield from non-domestic
rates that could be collected in the year, irrespective of
the year to which it relates, after the deduction of reliefs
and before any allowance for the cost of collection.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government what changes are
proposed to the thresholds for (a) small business rate
relief, (b) empty property rate relief and (c) supplementary
business rates following the 2010 non-domestic rate
revaluation. [294552]
Barbara Follett: The rateable value thresholds in the
Small Business Rate Relief scheme will increase from 1
April 2010. Eligible businesses, who generally occupy
only one property, with a rateable value of £6,000 or
below (increased from £5,000) may apply for 50 per
cent. relief. Eligible ratepayers with a rateable value
between £6,001 and £12,000 (increased from £5,001 and
£10,000 respectively) may apply for relief on a sliding
scale between 50 and 0 per cent.. Eligible ratepayers
with a rateable value between £12,001 and £17,999 or
£25,499 in Greater London (increased from £10,001,
£14,999 and £21,499 respectively) may apply for their
rates liability to be calculated using the small business
non-domestic multiplier. Additional properties with a
rateable value up to £2,599 (increased from £2,199) can
be disregarded in deciding whether the single occupancy
criterion has been met. However, the rateable values of
such properties are included in determining whether or
not the threshold criterion has been met.