Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am a slightly less experienced Member than my right hon. Friend and I probably know much less about local government finance, but I am trying to make a conscientious effort to participate in the discussion of this matter, which could be important to my constituents. We cannot follow the amendments because we do not have the text of the Act that is being amended. So we depend particularly on the acknowledged expertise of my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) to explain the background to and, therefore, the rationale of the amendment to the Government’s proposals to amend an Act that we do not have before us. It would be most helpful to hon. Members in my position if he could be given a little latitude in explaining the background to both the Government’s proposed amendments to the Act and his proposed amendment to the Government’s amendment to the Act.