Wednesday 26 March 2025
Financial Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
Wednesday 26 March 2025
Oral Questions, Energy Price Control, Lord Sikka.
Legislation, Bus Services (No.2) Bill – Report Stage, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill.
Wednesday 26 March 2025
Oral Evidence, Transport Committee, Buses connecting communities.
Oral Evidence, Business and Trade Committee, Industrial Strategy.
The RSN team will be reviewing transcripts of each of the above and sharing with readers any relevant comments.
Insights from Last Week
Council Tax Reform
In a recent debate, MPs discussed the urgent need for council tax reform, highlighting the system’s regressive nature and its disproportionately harsh impact on areas with high deprivation, like Hartlepool. Jonathan Brash MP emphasised the glaring disparity in council tax charges between Hartlepool and wealthier areas like Westminster, stressing the unfairness of the current system which bases taxes on outdated property values from 1991. He pointed out that Hartlepool’s council tax for a band A property significantly surpasses that of a comparable property in Westminster, underlining the burden on less affluent areas.
The debate showcased broad agreement on the need for reform, with contributions from multiple MPs who criticised the system’s failure to reflect current property values and its impact on local services, particularly social care. The call for a new proportional property tax was echoed, suggesting that such a system could alleviate financial pressures on struggling families and potentially increase government revenues for better public services.
Despite widespread recognition of the problems inherent in the current council tax system, the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, acknowledged the complexities of reform and indicated that while immediate changes are unlikely, the government is committed to a multi-year funding reform plan to address inequalities in local government funding. He emphasised the need for a review, stating, “On financing, we are clear that the current formula needs to be reviewed. It is not good enough anymore to keep on having a formula that is not fit for purpose, and which is supplemented by top-ups that change depending on the whim of the Government of the day. If this is a genuinely fair funding formula, it must be fair when tested.”
Read the debate transcript in full here.
