Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Of course, the First Secretary of State talks a lot about localism, but in reality he is in favour of centralisation. The amendment tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) would introduce a degree of localism into the process, and it would be useful for that reason. I am not sure whether Members realise the extent to which average council tax per dwelling has increased since 1993–94. The Halifax has done some useful work on the subject, and the average council tax per dwelling in 1993–94 was £456, whereas this year it is £1,009. That is an increase of £553, or 121 per cent., when average net income has gone up by 82 per cent. That is an increase of about 50 per cent. more than the increase in average net incomes.