To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 507, regarding the length of time taken to hear council tax banding appeals, if he will now make it his policy to set (a) a target by which time all appeals must be determined and (b) a target for the maximum length of time an individual appeal will take from submission to determination.

I have been asked to reply.I am anxious to ensure that appeals are dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible. What can be achieved will depend on how many proposals are received, but I intend to set firm targets as soon as the likely caseload can be estimated with reasonable certainty.