§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if the increase in the council tax at standard spending in the local government finance settlement will be limited to the change in retail price index. [86382]
§ Mr. LeslieThe level of the assumed national council tax is determined by the national total for formula spending, the total of revenue support grant, the distributable amount of business rates and the council tax base.
The increases from year to year in these figures, rather than any inflation assumption, are therefore what determine the increase in the assumed national council tax. Assumed national council tax is simply an assumption used in the distribution of grant; it is not a prediction of actual council tax.