§ The Earl of Lyttonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why, under the provisions of the Local Government Finance Bill, after a change of occupation a new occupier will have a right of appeal against his rateable value only if such a right has not previously been exercised in the currency of the list.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (The Earl of Caithness)We propose that there should be a right of appeal for all occupiers of properties for six months after a new list comes into effect, and thereafter, for new occupiers at any time during the life of the list, provided that the general right of appeal has not already been exercised in relation to the property as it then exists.
If, however, there is a physical change affecting a property after the general right of appeal has been exercised, a new right of appeal would arise. Our intention is to reduce the number of routine or repetitive appeals between revaluations so that other appeals can be dealt with more quickly.