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Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

I am coming to that point. It is true that we need such a link and I would not favour a situation in which 100 per cent. of local government services were funded by central Government. At the moment, the link is a little tenuous, because only £1 in every £5 that local authorities spend is raised locally. Although I shall not develop the point, I refer to the discussion that almost took place in the contribution by my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, South about the future of business rates and their redemocratisation, which we should certainly consider. Several Conservative Members have said that they oppose all revaluation, but it was only in April—at the height of a general election campaign—that the temporary, soon to be ex-Leader of the Opposition said that the delay in revaluation would be for ““the first Parliament””. That is what he told Sky television, and that implies a delay, not a cancellation.