Catalogue description Committee of Inquiry into the Impact of Rates on Households (Allen Committee): Minutes, Papers and Reports

The Allen Committee was set up by the Minister of Housing and Local Government and the Secretary of State for Scotland under the chairmanship of Professor R G D Allen "to assess the impact of rates on households in different income groups and in different parts of Great Britain with special regard to any circumstances likely to give rise to hardship".

The fundamental principle of rating is that each ratepayer should contribute according to the rental value of the property he occupies. The basis of valuation is the rent which the property would command if let from year to year in the open market. Under the Local Government Act 1948 the responsibility for assessing the values was transferred from local authorities to the Valuation Officer of the Inland Revenue.

Because the average figures for rate payments by householders and rate increases in different rating areas are no measure of the burden on the individual, the Minister and Secretary of State, decided in June 1963, to set up the Allen Committee.

The Committee aimed to present not only a comprehensive and balanced account of the impact of rates on householders but also to provide the essential statistical material for any review of the rating system.