Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash launches campaign to reform council tax system that is 'hammering Hartlepool'

Branding the figures as “stark”, he points out how a band D property in London’s Westminster City Council area is charged more than £900 a year “whereas in Hartlepool it’s nearly £2,400”.

A band H property in Hartlepool, meanwhile, is liable for nearly £3,000 more than the same band in Westminster.

Mr Brash now has launched the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Council Tax Reform to examine options for fixing the system and to lobby the Government for change.

The cross-party group brings together Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green members from the Commons and the Lords.

In its inaugural meeting recently, Mr Brash was elected to chair the group going forward.

The Labour MP for Hartlepool said: “I’m leading on this agenda because I know the harm that our regressive council tax system does to our town.

"The system is completely out of date, based on property values from 1991, and not on a person’s ability to pay.

"The net effect of this is that more affluent areas of the country, with higher property values, as well as higher business rates, can afford lower council tax levels.

“It is completely unfair and means that Hartlepool people are paying more and more in council tax as a percentage of their income.”

Additionally, the group intends to look at what council tax is expected to pay for as well as how it raises Council funds.

Mr Brash added: “Protecting vulnerable adults and children is probably our society’s most important responsibility.

"However, placing the burden for funding that responsibility onto local council taxpayers, at the expense of other council services, is now completely unworkable.

"People have a right to see a return for their money and if they don’t then the trust in the institutions that serve us will simply break down.

"With so much of the council’s money going toward social care, with other services getting cut back or removed entirely, then it’s easy to see why people are losing faith with local government.”

The APPG intends to look at evidence for fair taxation, fairer funding and reform of what council tax pays for.

The work is also being supported by the organisation Fairer Share at www//fairershare.org.uk/.

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