Council Tax (Hansard, 28 April 1993)

§ 1. Mr. Boyes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's latest information about the level of average household council tax bills.

§ The Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities (Mr. John Redwood)
The average headline council tax per dwelling for the current year is £456–£30 less than the average headline community charge per dwelling for 1992–93.

§ Mr. Boyes
Does the Minister recall the Prime Minister boasting that council tax bills in Labour areas would be £100 higher than the bills in Tory areas? Following further work on the figures, it has now been established that the council tax bill for Labour is £14 less than that for the Tories. Consequently, will the Minister congratulate Labour Sunderland on an average tax bill of £376, which is £65 lower than the average bill in the constituency of the Secretary of State in Tory-controlled Kent?

§ Mr. Redwood
It is interesting that Front-Bench Members now get others to do their dirty work for them. We all know that, on average, Labour bills are £100 or more higher for bands C and D across the country. [Interruption.] Oh yes, they are. They are £107 more for every band C tax. If the hon. Gentleman wishes to compare individual constituencies and districts, he may like to compare Sunderland with Mole Valley. Sunderland has a band C tax of £534 whereas Mole Valley has a band C tax of £461. Mole Valley, of course, gets a fraction of the revenue support grant per head that Sunderland gets. Labour gets more grant and imposes higher taxes. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his help in making that point because, as he well knows, it is £100 more in Labour areas than in Tory areas.

§ Sir Donald Thompson
Will my hon. Friend make a good job even better by encouraging local councils to settle appeals as quickly as possible and settle even more quickly those that fall out in favour of the customer?

§ Mr. Redwood
I agree. We want good management of local councils across the board and as management improves, so taxes can come down and services can improve. I am grateful for all good suggestions for improved management of local government. Opposition Members should listen carefully to some of the suggestions made by my hon. Friends. There are many excellent Conservative councils and I am sure that electors will reflect that on 6 May.

§ Mr. Straw
Has the Minister seen the excellent report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies which blows apart his use of band C as a comparison between councils? Was not the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy right to endorse our use of average household bills and to say: What will exercise people most is the bill they get through the door"? Is it not a fact that, compared with Tory areas, Labour councils provide far better services, in Labour counties the rise in crime and the rise in unemployment have been less, the price of meals on wheels is 50 per cent. less and children have three times the chance of a nursery education and in Labour council areas, average household bills are £14 below the level of those in Tory areas? There are better services and better value from Labour.

§ Mr. Redwood
Clearly, the hon. Gentleman seeks to make an additional party political broadcast. We know that those claims are highly misleading. The truth is that Labour councils impose taxes of £100 more in bands C and D than do Conservative councils. The average council tax figure merely reflects the fact that Labour areas have far more low-rated properties than Conservative areas. Even Labour can just about get its band A tax below the average band D tax in Conservative areas. That is the magnitude of the gap between the two parties in office. Labour is charging £107 more for band C and £122 more for band D —the price of inefficiency and poor management.