Council tax reform put off, with 'death knell' tourist tax hanging over Weston

9.33.01am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 26th Mar 2007

Campaigners for changes in the way council tax is collected in Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset will be left empty handed following the publication of a report by Chancellor Gordon Brown into local government funding.

Council tax protests, led locally by senior citizens champion Ken Lacey, have focussed on changing the tax system to make it fairer for those on low and fixed incomes. The publication of the Lyons Report (which was commissioned three years ago by the Labour Government to look at reforms to local council funding) today is expected to offer no quick fixes.

Information leaked to the BBC ahead of today's publication suggests that the report will call for two extra council tax bands at either end of the price spectrum - a new band for the most expensive homes and an additional lower one for the cheapest properties.

The review will also call for council tax revaluation before any changes are made - council tax bandings are currently based on the value of a property in 1991, when council tax was first introduced. Lyons will also recommend the introduction of a tourist or bed tax as an extra source of income, although it would be up to councils whether they adopt one or not.

Councillor Mike Bell, the Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Finance at North Somerset Council and Prospective MP for Weston-super-Mare, said: "The review, if the leaks are right, has been a waste of time. Three years work has produced a classic fudge which the Government has already indicated it will not implement before the General Election anyway.

"North Somerset Council submitted views to the Lyons Review in support of reform of the council tax to deliver a fairer system based on ability to pay. Weston Senior Citizens Forum and many other groups and individuals did the same. We have all all been ignored.

"Worse, the proposal to allow a bed tax as a means to top up local council income would spell the death knell to the local tourism industry. I cannot imagine a better way to destroy tourism in Weston than to slap a new tax on holiday accommodation.

"This review and the lack of action we have seen on council tax reinforces how out of touch this government is with reality. They are ignoring the needs of thousands of local pensioners and families on low incomes who are struggling to pay their council tax. We don't need fudge, we need to axe council tax and replace it with a fairer system based on ability to pay."