Clause 11 - Use of capital receipts
Local Government Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
The Minister is probably in a better position than I am to give such figures—he nods knowingly—but it is probably relevant to consider only the 34 debt-free authorities, because the other authorities would be in the same position anyway. We are talking about some £100 million per annum in respect of the 34 debt-free authorities, including Barking and Dagenham, which is by far the largest. Its figure would be about £12 million per annum.
To put that in context, the national figure for all authorities would be about £1.6 billion per annum, so we are talking about a small proportion of the total. With regard to meeting national housing need, it is a relatively insignificant sum, especially if one considers that part of it will presumably be recycled to the authorities that pay the tax, certainly to Barking and Dagenham. However, it is a very significant sum for individual authorities, many of which are quite small. The hon. Member for Guildford spoke about Waverley, which is a small authority. My local authority, Runnymede, is debt-free and a very small authority.