Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

moved Amendment No. 4:"Page 1, line 17, at end insert—" ““(   )   In subsection (11), for ““House of Commons”” substitute ““each House””.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, in another debate, the Minister rejected this amendment on the ground that it is not within the remit of this House to vote on matters of taxation. Indeed, she quoted Erskine May on this matter, which states:"““If the subject matter is taxation, the required resolution will be that of the House of Commons only””." That may be so; noble Lords would not expect to be involved in financial decisions. However, we feel that the decision whether to hold a revaluation is not a financial matter. Nothing about the Bill touches on taxation; it reorganises the order of financial procedure in local government. Indeed, we have been told several times that it will be financially neutral anyway. What is more, the whole process will not only have a profound effect on the levels of council tax, in a secondary sense, but it will have a huge effect on the arrangement of local government as a whole. I was grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Needham Market, for supporting this amendment at an earlier stage. In the light of united opinion on this matter, I look forward to the Minister’s reconsideration of it. I beg to move.