asked the Minister for the Environment the yields for agricultural rates for each of the three years preceding the High Court decision declaring the agricultural rating system unconstitutional; and the amount which would be received in 1988 if the real annual value, taking account of inflation, had been maintained in respect of such rates.
Written Answers. - Agricultural Rates.
33.
While the statistics of rate collection available in my Department for the years in question do not distinguish rates actually collected by reference to the type of property involved, the total amounts of rates payable in respect of land for 1979, 1980 and 1981, after allowing for the rates relief schemes for these years, were £35.6 million, £39.3 million and £32.3 million respectively. The 1988 equivalents of those figures are £82.3 million, £76.9 million and £52.5 million, respectively, when indexed to consumer prices.