Council Tax

I am sure that all hon. Members will want to thank the Minister for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination for introducing the measure with her customary charm and courtesy, but I am sorry to say that her having done so does not alter the fact that the case is not terribly good. However nicely the case is put, council tax on band D properties has more than doubled in the Government's time in office, so it is a bit rich for the Government to lecture anyone, including a police authority, on increases in expenditure, particularly as the Audit Commission has given Surrey police authority the highest rating for value for money. My party introduced capping, and I accept that, but the world has rather moved on since. As time has gone by, it has become more and more apparent that the current system of capping is past its sell-by date, as I told the right hon. Lady's predecessor a year ago when we debated the matter. The Surrey case very much demonstrates that. The right hon. Lady made a good deal of the proportionate nature of the response, but with respect, I point out that the evidence suggests that the response is not genuinely proportionate. There was a Westminster Hall debate on 11 June, I think, dealing with the subject. Neither the right hon. Lady nor I was able to be present, but I know that we both read the transcript. Ten out of the 11 Surrey Members of Parliament attended; the other sent his views via one of his colleagues. The hon. Member for Chesterfield (Paul Holmes) was there, too. It was a lively debate, and every one of those Surrey Members of Parliament expressed the same view: the response was not proportionate. The figure quoted clearly then—it has never been contradicted by any Government source—was that about £1.2 million would be expended to recover £1.6 million, so all in all, the Government may get back about £400 million. That is not a proportionate response, given the background.