Council Tax: Valuation

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency’s Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 22 November 2005, what the purpose and function is of Project 1.5; and what enhancements it has made to Project 1.

Ian Pearson
The purpose and function of Project 1.5 was to deliver a series of enhancements to Project 1. These enhancements did not alter the fundamental operation of the Automated Valuation Model (AVM) system but were a refinement of processes within, and outputs from, the system, together with the generation of additional management reports.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 31 March 2003, paragraph 1.05, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Project Timetable.

Ian Pearson
The minutes refer to ‘the “Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Project Timetable” (V01 14/03/2003)’. This timetable was for initial scoping activity and is headed “Proof of Concept”. A copy of the document is being placed in the Library.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 22 November 2005, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the Programme Closure documents PRMP-12, PRMP-37 and PRMP-38, redacting the names of junior civil servants.

Ian Pearson
Copies of these documents will be placed in the Library.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which opinion research company conducted the People's Panel research for the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme; what reports they produced; and what the cost was of that research.

Ian Pearson
ORC International conducted the People's Panel research work at a cost of £75,968. Two reports were produced, one presenting the output of focus groups and the other presenting that of in-depth interviews conducted with a sample of council taxpayers.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 20 January 2004, paragraph 3, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the Omnibus survey.

Ian Pearson
A copy of the results of the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) Council Tax Omnibus Survey 2004 has been placed in the Library.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 17 February 2004, paragraph 5, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) presentation from the Welsh office of the Valuation Office Agency and (b) paper from statisticians.

Ian Pearson
The papers requested are not held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 24 May 2004, paragraph 3, if he will place in the Library a copy of Handout 1 and Handout 2.

Ian Pearson
Copies of these documents will be placed in the Library.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 23 November 2004, paragraph 7, if he will place in the Library a copy of the revised version of the Benefits Analysis document.

Ian Pearson
A copy of this document will be placed in the Library.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency’s Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 19 October 2004, paragraph 3.10, if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation on the insight to automated valuation model estimates; and in which areas the mini-revaluations took place.

Ian Pearson
This presentation was a live demonstration of emerging test modelling outputs and outcomes. As such there is no presentation that can be placed in the Library.

Prior to the postponement of the 2007 Council Tax Revaluation in England, ‘Mini Revaluation’ (later known as Test Modelling) exercises were carried out, in order to test and refine the automated valuation model, in the following billing authority areas:

Barrow-in-Furness

Birmingham

Blackpool

Bradford

Brighton and Hove

Bristol

Camden

Canterbury

Colchester

Derby

Ellesmere Port and Neston

Enfield

Gosport

Greenwich

Hillingdon

Ipswich

Kettering

Liverpool

Milton Keynes

Newham

North Tyneside

Oldham

Restormel

Rotherham

Sefton

South Ribble

Stockport

Stroud

Sutton

Tamworth

Tonbridge and Malling

Tower Hamlets

Wandsworth

Watford

West Berkshire

West Lindsey

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 25 May 2005, if he will place in the Library a copy of the paper presenting the case for the acquisition of Rightmove data.

Ian Pearson
A copy of this document, with commercially sensitive information redacted, will be placed in the Library.