Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of charging Council Tax on properties which have received planning permission but where no construction has commenced after a year.

Council tax is a tax on domestic properties based on their capital value in 1991. The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for allocating council tax bands in England, and upon completion will assign a band to newly constructed properties. The government has no plans to change this.