§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the range of values would be for each council tax band at today's prices. [154879]
§ Mr. RaynsfordUsing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's quarterly index of house price movements, the average increase in prices in England from the second quarter (April-June) of 1991—approximately when the original council tax valuations were based—to the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2003 was 139 per cent.
If the current English council tax bands were uprated by this amount (and rounding to the nearest £5,000), the bands would be as follows:
£ Band A Up to 95,000 Band B 95,000 to 125,000 Band C 125,000 to 165,000 Band D 165,000 to 210,000 Band E 210,000 to 285,000 Band F 285,000 to 385,000 Band G 385,000 to 765,000 Band H Over 765,000 This index is based only on sales of property and may not fully reflect changes in the value of social housing.