To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to facilitate data-sharing of council tax information (a) within departments of local authorities and (b) between local authorities and other public sector bodies. (103946)

As we said in our recent Local Government White Paper, ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’, effective cross-agency working needs to be supported by effective data sharing between local partners. The Government’s Information Sharing Vision Statement published on 13 September 2006 sets out the Government’s vision for better, more customer-focused services supported by greater information sharing which will protect and support individuals and society as a whole.