Council Tax: Appeals (Hansard, 26 July 1994)

§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Viscount Ullswater)
My Lords, 864,014 council tax banding appeals were made in England during the initial appeal period which ended last November. By the middle of June, 478,479 of these, or 55.4 per cent., were still outstanding.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, is not such a delay over a tax which has now been in operation for two years a pretty poor performance and very unfair to the taxpayer?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, just to put the matter into perspective, we should look at the size of the 600 problem. Twenty-one million dwellings were banded which means that just a little over 4 per cent. were queried. Roughly half of those have been dealt with.

§ Lord Renton
My Lords, can my noble friend give us some idea of the number of appeals which have been successful?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, I put that question to my advisers but unfortunately they were unable to come up with a reliable answer. The problem is that some of the appeals which can easily be dealt with have been dealt with already, such as those from urban areas. A major problem has been the preponderance of appeals regarding one-off, difficult-to-value properties in some rural areas.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, as this tax has now been in operation for a couple of years, can my noble friend indicate when the number of appeals is likely to be brought to a conclusion?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, 80 per cent. of the initial appeals are expected to be settled by the end of 1994. I believe that my noble friend will understand that if queries go to appeal and to court, there may be some difficulty in clearing up every single case.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, the noble Viscount told us that they were the figures for England. Does that imply that everyone in Wales is satisfied with the council tax banding? I must say to the noble Viscount that recent elections in the Principality do not seem to bear that out.

§ Viscount Ullswater
No, my Lords, I did not imply that people in Wales were satisfied. The figures which I gave apply to only England.

§ Lord Eatwell
My Lords, when this issue has been raised in the past I have suggested that it might be appropriate, given the tardiness of the Government in dealing with the appeals, that interest should be payable on balances returned to council tax payers. The Government have argued that in those circumstances the amounts would be very small and therefore it was not worth taking the trouble. Now that this matter is taking such a long time, the amounts potentially returnable are getting steadily larger. Is it not now appropriate for the Government to concede that interest should be paid on the balances returned after appeals have taken such a long time?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, it is very important that all appeals should be carefully and dispassionately considered. Getting the right answer matters much more than getting it quickly. The procedures outlined are designed to give the maximum opportunity for the valuation officer and the tax payer to reach agreement. The tax payer has a right to a hearing by an independent valuation tribunal if he wants it. I can only repeat the Answer which I gave; namely, that the sums involved are pretty modest if it were a question of paying interest. 601 There would be an administrative cost for such a system. I believe that the noble Lord is interested in not wasting money.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, the Question was not confined to England. Can we have the Welsh figures?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, I shall have to write to the noble Lord.

§ Lord Geddes
My Lords, as regards the supplementary question from the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, is it right—I believe I quote the noble Lord's words correctly—that the delay is due to government tardiness? I understood that it was due to the local council in that case. I have but one example of the Suffolk Coastal District Council which was extremely efficient. The matter was dealt with in a very matter of fact way, very speedily and very satisfactorily.

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, my noble friend is quite right. A report from the National Audit Office states: The completion of 21 million bandings to a 12 month deadline was, by any standards, a significant achievement … the banding of all properties was carried out to a level of accuracy that met acceptable professional standards". As I said in my supplementary answer to my noble friend Lord Boyd-Carpenter, in relation to such a large exercise, we are talking only of a relatively small percentage.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, is the Minister aware that this issue, and those raised in the supplementary question of the noble Lord, Lord Boyd-Carpenter, are causing concern throughout the country? It appears to me that, as yet, the Government have not said that they are looking at methods to speed up the process so that such concerns could be reduced to the absolute minimum. Are the Government examining the whole issue, as suggested by the noble Lord, Lord Boyd-Carpenter?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, yes. Ministers have given an assurance that some 80 per cent. of the initial appeals are expected to be settled by the end of 1994. As I said to the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, it is much better that the right result is achieved, rather than a speedy result.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the Question is not confined to England? In addition to informing the noble Lord, Lord Richard, will my noble friend make available the full answer to the Question as it has been posed?

§ Viscount Ullswater
My Lords, of course I will.