---

Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

Is my hon. Friend familiar with another aspect of council tax—that students are not required to pay it? The Government helpfully provide a CBT1 form, which is returned by local authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year recording the number of properties in the hands of students, but because the reporting time is in the autumn, the actual number of student properties is not known until the following spring. Students are generally slow to return their council tax demands and to get an exemption form. As a result, areas such as mine miss out to the tune of £500,000 or £750,000 and face a further problem, which is surely why people are paying too much through their council tax.