---

Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

Members on both sides of the House are aware of the importance of a good relationship between people and their local authority. Like many Members here today, I seek improvements to the system that will not only enable a more efficient collection of funding and delivery of local services but strengthen the relationship between local councils and their stakeholders. During this year’s general election campaign, I read with interest and not a little disbelief the Opposition parties’ proposals for collection and for reforming the council tax system. The Conservatives proposed the postponement of revaluation and promised simple council tax cuts which were unaffordable and would lead to an inevitable loss in service provision. The Liberal Democrats, who now say in the House that revaluation would be a waste of time, offered a local income tax system which would be expensive to run and would penalise hard-working people across the country. Two contrasting proposals—one irresponsible, the other unworkable.