Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

moved Amendment No. 3:"Page 1, line 5, leave out subsection (2)." The noble Lord said: Subsection (2) inserts into the 1992 Act a power for the Secretary of State to specify by order, for England, the year in which each new valuation list must be compiled. The Bill therefore empowers the Secretary of State to determine the date of any future revaluation, should it take place, and presumably the timescale between one revaluation and another, unlike the present legislation, in which the timescale is fixed on a 10-year cycle. We cannot support giving the Secretary of State an unfettered power to introduce a revaluation, in theory, whenever he or she wishes. Such a measure could be abused to the detriment of the already hard-pressed council tax payer, who has seen bills increased far beyond anything resembling inflation since the Government came to power. Indeed, when one considers that, since 1997, council tax has increased by more than 76 per cent, one can understand people’s worries. It means that many individuals who are asset-rich but income-poor are the hardest hit. Furthermore, as we all know, the gearing effect means that it is difficult for local authorities to keep the rate of increase of council tax down to the rate of inflation; therefore, the added imposition of possible revaluation only adds to people’s worries. In addition, we must not forget that revaluations are very expensive to conduct. With the Secretary of State having the power to call one whenever he or she wishes, the potential future bill for revaluations could be very significant. Why do the Government seek such a power for the Secretary of State? It seems far beyond anything that could be justified. How soon after the conclusion and publication of Sir Michael Lyons’s final report do the Government envisage a revaluation will occur? Surely it would have been better to wait for the Lyons report before taking the powers in this legislation, which appear excessive. I beg to move.