Council Tax: Appeals Mrs. Spelman To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council tax appeals the Valuation Tribunal Service has considered in each of the last five years; and how many resulted in a change to a lower band for the dwelling in question. Ms Rosie Winterton The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) has held information centrally on the number of successful appeals since the beginning of 2006-07 in England. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Number of council tax appeals received|Number of council tax appeals considered by tribunals|Number of council tax appeals allowed or allowed in part|Number of decisions resulting in a lower band| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004-05 |24,422 |n/a |n/a |n/a | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005-06 |21,805 |n/a |n/a |n/a | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006-07 |27,130 |5,274 |646 |n/a | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2007-08 |34,340 |8,666 |1,056 |n/a | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2008-09 |6,950 |5,624 |887 |722 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |n/a = Not available| | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appeals to the VTS can be made about matters other than a property's banding. The VTS has held information centrally on whether appeals resulted in a change of banding only since 2008-09. Council tax policy in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.