Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Answer to the hon. Member for Christchurch of 21 November 2022, Official Report, column 18, for what reason he feels more sorry for people outside the Christchurch constituency than he does for people within that constituency who are in council tax poverty; and for what reason he feels less sorry for people who are relatively older than those who are not.

Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State, local councils are responsible for setting their own council tax levels. The Government maintains referendum principles to protect all households from excessive council tax increases. The Government has announced our intention to set referendum principles for 2023-24 at 3%, with an additional 2% flexibility for councils with adult social care responsibilities. For those on low incomes, council tax support is available from their council, and the nationally set Pensioner scheme maintains support at the levels of the former Council Tax Benefit, including reductions of up to 100%.