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Local Government Finance

I guess that we would all love to know whether the Liberal Democrats would go ahead with their local income tax policy—[Hon. Members: "Yes."] Well, it was not exactly popular at the last election, so that is probably good news for many hon. Members. It is not only council tax rates that have been going through the roof under Labour. One of our biggest concerns is that this local government finance settlement is principally underpinned by receipts from business rates. The Government are about to press on with a business rate revaluation, which could fundamentally destabilise the main source of revenue for local councils and their services—