Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2026
I welcome the opportunity to speak and correct the misinformation in the Conservative motion. First, the budget improves the local government settlement with a 2 per cent real-terms increase, not a reduction, as Craig Hoy claims in his motion and as he claimed in his speech. Unless he is accusing SPICe and the Accounts Commission of being dishonest, he should correct the record at the earliest opportunity.
Secondly, Craig Hoy asked for the consultation and revaluation of all homes to be removed, but there is no Government proposal for a full revaluation whatsoever. What is proposed is a targeted revaluation for properties of more than £1 million in order to introduce, in 2028, two new high-value property bands in the council tax system.
Thirdly, on the on-going consultation, no specific proposal is being advocated. Instead, we are trying to determine whether a consensus can be found so that local government taxation is as fair a system as possible.
Finally, in the lead-up to the budget, our engagement made it clear that the consensus view was that it should be for individual councils to set their council tax rates without a freeze or a cap. That is what the draft budget allows for. That is a key demand from all COSLA leaders, including the Tory leader at COSLA. Is the Tory leader at COSLA wrong, Craig Hoy?