Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

I too thank Mr. Speaker for ensuring that we were provided with the Local Government Finance Act 1992, on which the amendments rest. I hope that the House will never again have to debate without such information. I also hope that the cost of providing it, which must have been considerable, will be met not from the House of Commons appropriation but by the Minister, because it was incurred as a result of a change in the order of today’s business. Governments should take seriously the cost of changes that are often made for not altogether wholesome reasons. I like to know that if people cause the cost, they pay the cost. This is an important amendment and I came into the Chamber, what now seems like a long time ago, to support it—but the more I have heard the debate, the more I think that there are some key issues that need to be teased out. I hope that I can encourage the Minister to take the gravamen of the proposal seriously, even if he does not accept the format in which it is presented.