65-674: The Valuation Office Agency is a government body in England and Wales. It is an executive agency of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs . The agency values properties for the purpose of Council Tax and for non-domestic rates in England and Wales (in Scotland this function is performed by the Scottish Assessors ). This work is undertaken on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in England, and
130-494: A few streets or as large as an entire county. These all set their precepts independently. Each of the levying authorities sets a precept (total amount) to be collected for households in their area. This is then divided by the number of nominal Band D properties in the authority's area (county, district, national park, etc.) to reach the Band D amount. In general terms: The occupiers of a property are liable, regardless of tenure, or
195-625: A five-yearly cycle of commercial revaluations, however, on 18 October 2012 the government introduced a new Growth and Structure Bill into the House of Commons which included measures to postpone the next business rates revaluation in England from 2015 to 2017. In the Spring Statement 2018 the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a move to more frequent revaluations, which would now be held every three years, starting from
260-431: A full share; to assist individuals sharing with those residents, a rebate ( Second Adult Rebate ) was available, as follows: Council Tax Benefit was a means-tested rebate that potentially rebated 100% of a claimant's Council Tax bill. The rebate would be reduced by a fifth of any qualifying income above a certain level; benefits did not qualify for this calculation, but most other income did. In effect, Council Tax Benefit
325-652: A low of £1,024 (in the Western Isles) to a high of £1,230 (in Aberdeen), but the effect can be more pronounced in parts of England. For example, the 2018 rates in London had this sort of distribution: Under the Labour government of Tony Blair , average Council Tax rates rose dramatically above inflation. The subsequent Coalition government made an effort to get councils to freeze Council Tax rates, gradually eroding
390-462: A multimillion-pound mansion will pay three times more than someone in a bedsit, which falls into Band A. The government had planned to revalue all properties in England in 2007, which would have been the first revaluation since 1993, but in September 2005, it was announced that the revaluation in England would be postponed until "after the next election". At the same time, the terms of reference of
455-588: A nominal 1991 (2003 for Wales) value. Each local authority sets a tax rate expressed as the annual levy on a Band D property inhabited by two liable adults. This decision automatically sets the amounts levied on all types of households and dwellings. The nominal Band D property total is calculated by adding together the number of properties in each band and multiplying by the band ratio. So 100 Band D properties will count as 100 nominal Band D properties, whereas 100 Band C properties will count as 89 nominal Band D properties. Each collecting authority then adds together
520-424: A rebate. Since 2013, explicit Council Tax discounts have been provided, now officially known as Council Tax Reduction schemes, though many councils market them to residents as Council Tax Support ; the choice to market the rules as a tax cut, rather than a benefit, may be an ideological one. . Many local authorities choose to use similar or identical rules to the former statutory rebate schemes, while others took
585-404: A regional structure, named Regional Valuation Unit's to save face and Penny was promoted back into HMRC. In April 2017 launched a new online service, Check Challenge Appeal (CCA). The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) deals with checks and challenges and the independent Valuation Tribunal for England handles any appeals. The online service allows users to "claim" a property and to check the information
650-605: A resident of a property, an individual should have the property as their sole or main residence; case law has established that no single test may be used to determine whether this condition is met. As part of the National Fraud Initiative, every other year, the Audit Commission analyses metadata deriving from Council Tax accounts together with the full electoral register to produce lists of people it believes should be subjected to an investigation on
715-580: A task which it continues to undertake today. It was this other government work that lead to the VO's retention after the 1910 land value tax was abolished in the 1920s. During the following years, the VO took on some major tasks such as in 1931 which saw a further proposed tax on land values, and from 1939 to 1945 when it valued property destroyed by enemy action in the UK during the Second World War. In 1950
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#1732798313671780-567: Is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property , which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 , replacing the short-lived Community Charge (also known as "poll tax"), which in turn replaced the domestic rates . Each property is assigned one of eight bands in England and Scotland (A to H), or nine bands in Wales (A to I), based on property value, and
845-444: Is a progressive tax based on the value of the property; the higher the value of the property, the higher the amount of tax levied irrespective of the number of inhabitants at the property (except the reduction allowed for single tenancy). However, there is only one band for properties valued (in 1991 or, for those built later, the value they would have had then) above £320,000, and so the tax stops increasing after this point. Therefore,
910-634: Is a devolved matter, the Barnett Formula leads the Scottish Government to acquire funding somewhat in accordance with central government priorities. Subsequently, by 2013, the Scottish Government froze Council Tax rates for the fourth time. Some dwellings are automatically exempt from Council Tax liability; these are officially organised into a number of distinct classes. Most of these exemption classes only apply when
975-716: Is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government , Scottish Government , Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive . Executive agencies are "machinery of government" devices distinct both from non-ministerial government departments and non-departmental public bodies (or " quangos "), each of which enjoy legal and constitutional separation from ministerial control. The model has been applied in several other countries. Agencies include well-known organisations such as His Majesty's Prison Service and
1040-587: Is disregarded if they are: A fixed discount, currently set at 25%, is available when there are fewer than two residents; this is known as the Single Person Discount . Though it is often concluded that the full Council Tax charge must, therefore, be based on two or more adults being resident at a property, this is not strictly true. Some people are automatically disregarded when counting the number of residents for this purpose, such as full-time students. The legislation also provides that, to count as
1105-444: Is facing growing attention is the number of households that are falling into arrears with their Council Tax payments. The ordinary route for councils to chase unpaid debts is to apply to a magistrates' court for a liability order. If a liability order is granted, the council can undertake enforcement action. In 2014–15, the court and administration costs in relation to Council Tax debt increased by 17%. The collecting authorities are
1170-581: Is the largest single employer of Chartered Surveyors in the UK . The current chief executive is Jonathan Russell, appointed in September 2021. The equivalent body to the VOA for Northern Ireland is the Valuation and Lands Agency . In Scotland it is the Scottish Assessors . The Finance Act 1910 introduced a version of land value tax on that part of the capital appreciation of a property which followed from
1235-577: The Department for Work and Pensions to the Valuation Office Agency on 1 April 2009. In November 2007, chief executive Andrew Hudson announced to staff a series of measures to improve its service to customers and take account of a reduction in government funding. The plans included more centralisation of routine processing functions; better management of data; a reduction in the space the Agency occupies through digitisation of records; and
1300-629: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency . The annual budget for each agency, allocated by HM Treasury , ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service . Virtually all government departments have at least one agency. The initial success or otherwise of executive agencies was examined in the Sir Angus Fraser's Fraser Report of 1991. Its main goal was to identify what good practices had emerged from
1365-658: The Rent Act 1977 (amended by the Housing Act 1988 ) and assisting local authorities with housing renovation grant applications. The introduction of the new Local Housing Allowance for new claimants in April 2008 had a significant impact on the Rent Service. It was expected that by 2011 its workload would be approximately 75% lower than the level in 2007–8. The residual functions of The Rent Service were transferred from
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#17327983136711430-581: The Welsh Government in Wales . The agency also provides additional valuation services to HM Revenue and Customs through its District Valuer Services business stream. This includes property valuations for the purpose of assessing taxes, such as capital gains and inheritance tax. District Valuer Services also provide a wide range of valuation services to the public sector, such as asset valuations for resource accounting and compulsory purchase advice on
1495-490: The Band D amounts for their area (or subdivisions of their area in the case, for example, of civil parish council precepts) to reach a total Band D Council Tax bill. To calculate the Council Tax for a particular property, a ratio is then applied. A Band D property will pay the full amount, whereas a Band H property will pay twice that. Note there is no upper limit for band H. This means that in reality, someone who lives in
1560-424: The Council Tax bill, Council Tax Benefit was reduced so that it only covered the claimant's hypothetical portion of the Council Tax bill. However, no reduction was imposed if the claimant or their partner needed substantial care; this qualification was met if, and only if, the claimant was: No contribution was expected from non-dependants who would themselves qualify for Council Tax benefit, were not counted towards
1625-787: The Department for Communities and Local Government said the revaluation of the Welsh Council Tax bands, pencilled in for 2015, would not now go ahead, and decisions over any future re-valuations should be taken in Cardiff Bay. The Rent Service ( TRS ) was a government agency providing a rental valuation service to local authorities in England supplying them with a range of valuations to assist them in settling claims for housing benefit from claimants living in privately rented housing. Valuations were provided for landlords and tenants for fair rent registrations made under Section 70 of
1690-535: The Lyons Inquiry were extended and the report date pushed out to December 2006 (subsequently extended to 2007). In Wales, tax bills based on the property revaluations use 2003 prices issued in 2005. Because of the surge in house prices over the late 1990s and early 2000s, more than a third of properties in Wales found themselves in a band higher than under the 1991 valuation. Some properties were moved up three or even four bands with consequent large increases in
1755-479: The United Kingdom. By 1997, 76% of civil servants were employed by an agency. The new Labour government in its first such report – the 1998 Next Steps Report – endorsed the model introduced by its predecessor. A later review (in 2002, linked below) made two central conclusions (their emphasis): " The agency model has been a success . Since 1988 agencies have transformed the landscape of government and
1820-680: The United States, the Clinton administration imported the model under the name "performance-based organizations." In Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name special operating agencies . One example is the Translation Bureau under Public Services and Procurement Canada . Executive agencies were also established in Australia, Jamaica, Japan and Tanzania. Council Tax Council Tax
1885-425: The VO underwent a large scale re-organisation which saw a large reduction in the size of the regional layer of management and the closure of regional offices. The district valuer post in the local office was abolished and there was a reorganisation of the local offices into 24 groups each headed by a group valuation officer. A number of regionally-based specialist rating units were set up to take over responsibility from
1950-639: The VOA as part of a fundamental review in its reply in February 2020. Executive agency King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee An executive agency
2015-592: The VOA hold, this record can then be amended or challenged and if not resolved then they can move to appeal. The CCA service was heavily criticised by service users, the Treasury Select Committee undertook an inquiry. The Committee heard evidence from a large number of businesses and trade organisations. Their findings were that the service was broken, delays were common, there were issues with staffing in specialist roles and public confidence had been eroded. The Government promised to make changes at
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2080-483: The VOA, she was Director, Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence in HMRC. Ciniewicz brought across a number of staff from HMRC to assist her with her plan known as 'VOA 2015'. VOA 2015 was a continuation of the search for cost savings by staff reductions (staff numbers reduced by 300 in the year 2009-10), the introduction of new technology, and office closures. The plan took into account the additional 20% cost cuts required by
2145-401: The above inflation increases via ordinary inflation. This was achieved by offering councils large grants in return for freezing their Council Tax rate; for example, in some years these grants were equal to the amount that would have been gained by a 1% Council Tax rise. In addition, the law has been changed, so that councils cannot increase Council Tax by an amount higher than a cap specified by
2210-453: The amount of Council Tax demanded. Some properties were moved into new Band I at the top of the price range. Only 8% of properties were moved down in bands. However, a large shift of properties between bands will cause a shift in the allocation of the charge between bands, and the tax levied for each particular band will then drop, as the total amount collected will remain the same for each authority (see "calculation of amount" above). Between
2275-455: The bands were re-set on 1 April 2005 by the then National Assembly for Wales , based on 2003 valuations. In addition to revising the band boundaries upwards, an extra band was added. In Scotland , the current bands are Due to the different make-up of each council area, Council Tax rates can vary quite a bit between different local authorities. This is less noticeable in parts of the country like Scotland, where band D rates in 2011 varied from
2340-407: The basis that there is a risk that a discount is being received when an adult who does not fail to be disregarded is actually resident in the dwelling. If a property has been adapted to meet the needs of a disabled occupant, then, after applying in writing, and provided the adaptations are of a certain extent, the property will be rebanded to the band immediately below its normal Council Tax band. If
2405-430: The bill being delivered to the claimant, effectively creating a discount. However, the schemes were administered by the local authority responsible for producing the relevant Council Tax bill. Though the funding was provided by central government, the Council Tax bill it rebated was paid to the local authority. Originally using paper application forms, local authorities began to use a telephone-based application process, in
2470-507: The councils of the districts of England , principal areas of Wales and council areas of Scotland , i.e. the lowest tier of local government aside from parishes and communities. The precepting authorities are councils from other levels of local government such as county or parish councils and other agencies. In metropolitan counties where there is no county council, the joint boards are precepting authorities. There may be precepting authorities for special purposes that cover an area as small as
2535-417: The exact nature of Council Tax and states that: The tax is a mix of a property tax and a personal tax. Generally, where two or more persons reside in a dwelling the full tax is payable. If one person resides in the dwelling then 75% is payable. An empty dwelling attracts only a 50% charge unless the billing authority has made a determination otherwise. At the bottom and middle end of the market, Council Tax
2600-610: The expenditure of public money on communal development such as roads or other public services. In order to apply this tax it was necessary to value all property in the UK and the Inland Revenue set up the Valuation Office to carry out this task. This led to the Valuation Office Survey (1910-1915) . The VO soon began to receive requests from other government departments for valuation assistance -
2665-491: The geographical responsibility of his office. There were regional offices each headed by a superintending valuer who was responsible for the general management of the district valuers within his region and liaison between the local offices and the Chief Valuer's Office in London. Over the years the number of offices has reduced as the rating and other functions of the VO were combined into so-called "integrated" offices and
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2730-552: The government (currently 3%), without holding a local referendum to approve the change; so far only one council has invoked such a referendum, but many have raised Council Tax as close to the cap as they can get without passing it (for example, by 2.99%). This limit, combined with falling grants from central government due to austerity policy, has led councils to have a real-terms cut in spending power of more than 10% in 2021–22 compared to 2009–10, which has inevitably led to service reductions and cuts. Although local government policy
2795-495: The government. As part of VOA 2015 the CEO abolished the 'group' structure and its associated group valuation officer position, organising staff by function into business streams rather than by location. During the period of 2015 - 2020, just about every aspect of the "Targeted Operating Model" used for VOA 2015 was dismantled as the system did not work with such a small Agency, and was also very unpopular with staff. The VOA returned to
2860-409: The highest collection rates of any tax, with in-year collection rates of 97.0% in 2014–15. Council Tax is collected by the local authority (known as the collecting authority ). However, it may consist of components (precepts) levied and redistributed to other agencies or authorities (each known as a precepting authority ). The Valuation Tribunal Service has cleared up many previous doubts regarding
2925-604: The introduction of more flexible ways of working, supported by enhanced technology. In February 2009 Andrew Hudson was named as the next managing director of the public services and growth directorate in HM Treasury. His replacement at the VOA was Penny Ciniewicz, who had joined the Civil Service in 1997 and since then has worked in the Department of Trade and Industry and the Cabinet Office. Prior to joining
2990-511: The last few years of the rebate schemes. Under these latter application schemes, claimants would often contact the responsible central government department (for example, by making a benefit claim ), who would then forward the details to the local authority. Many individuals share their dwelling with members of separate households, who would ordinarily be expected to pay a share of the Council Tax bill. However, in some cases, it would not be reasonable to expect those other residents to be able to pay
3055-411: The local offices for the more complex or higher-value non-domestic rating assessments. As part of this re-organisation further offices were closed leaving a total of 85. As of 2017-2018 the VOA continues to undergo transformation with further office closures in England and Wales. Rating system revaluations have taken place irregularly. The first was due in 1952 but was postponed until 1956 where unusually
3120-453: The network was slimmed down as the number of local offices were closed and by 1996 there were only 93. Staffing numbers have varied in accordance with the workload peaking in the years around the times of rating revaluations when it was necessary to increase staff to carry the revaluation and to settle appeals arising from it. So in 1965 there were around 7,000 compared to 2,600 prior to 1950. By 1994/5 there were 4,775 permanent staff. In 1998
3185-407: The new model and spread them to other agencies and departments. The report also recommended further powers be devolved from ministers to chief executives. A series of reports and white papers examining governmental delivery were published throughout the 1990s, under both Conservative and Labour governments. During these the agency model became the standard model for delivering public services in
3250-667: The next revaluation in 2021. In 1993 domestic rating returned in the form of the Council Tax where a residential property's sale price, rather than its rental value, is the basis for assessment. It was intended to have a domestic revaluation in England in 2007 but following the domestic revaluation in Wales, where over a third of households saw a banding increase, it was decided to postpone the revaluation of England. The current government announced on 24 September 2010 there will be no revaluation of council tax bands in England during this parliament. In another announcement on 4 December 2010
3315-476: The opportunity to levy a small level of tax on people with low incomes. In particular people in receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (or who would meet the same qualifying rules) must continue to receive a 100% discount (that is, a Council Tax bill of £0). Historically, a number of statutory Council Tax rebates existed. These were applied to the Council Tax account in advance of
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#17327983136713380-470: The owners if the property is unoccupied, except if the property is a house in multiple occupation , in which case the landlord is liable for paying the Council Tax. Each dwelling is allocated to one of eight bands coded by letters A to H (A to I in Wales) on the basis of its assumed capital value (as at 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, 1 April 2003 in Wales). Newly constructed properties are also assigned
3445-428: The property is completely unoccupied; these are as follows: The remaining exemption classes apply not only when the property is unoccupied, but also when certain categories of people are living there: Other classes existed historically and are no longer mandatory. Councils may still offer 100% discount; some discount or no discount at all at their discretion. Once a property has been vacant for over 2 years, they have
3510-559: The property was in the lowest Council Tax band, it will be placed into a Band Z (the band below A). Under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 , local councils were given powers to create new deduction rules for their Council Tax. As these rules replace the former statutory rebate schemes, the Act has also restricted the councils from increasing, by more than a certain amount, the net Council Tax bill for any individual who previously received
3575-524: The public sector. The predecessors of the Valuation Office Agency were the separate Valuation Office organisations in England and Wales (established in 1910) and in Scotland (established in 1911). The Valuation Office Agency was created as a merger of these two and became a Next Steps Agency of the Inland Revenue on 30 September 1991. The VOA employs 3,990 people (full-time equivalent) in 86 offices. It
3640-411: The purchase and sale of property, specialist building surveying advice, and valuation of mineral-bearing property, landfill sites and plant and machinery. Since April 2008 following a restructure, District Valuer Services has been divided into National and Central Services, who look after the agency's statutory services to HMRC, and Commercial Services who provide commercial property valuation services to
3705-431: The residential rateable assessments were based on 1939 values. The next due in 1961 was postponed until 1963 due to difficulties in valuing houses and the 1973 revaluation took place five years after it was originally scheduled. The next revaluation should have been in 1982 but was again postponed until 1990. This revaluation was purely for commercial property as domestic rating had been abolished. Since then there has been
3770-421: The responsive and effectiveness of services delivered by Government." Some agencies have, however, become disconnected from their departments ... The gulf between policy and delivery is considered by most to have widened." The latter point is usually made more forcefully by critics of the government, describing agencies as "unaccountable quangos ". Several other countries have an executive agency model. In
3835-484: The right to levy a surcharge of up to an additional 50% on the standard Council Tax rate for the property. All persons normally resident in a property are counted for Council Tax liability. However, certain classes of person are treated as 'disregarded persons'. Such persons do not count towards occupancy. If a property is occupied entirely by disregarded persons then it is taxed as an empty property (50% discount) unless it otherwise qualifies for total exemption. A person
3900-424: The role of the VO was expanded when it took over responsibility for the valuation of property in England and Wales for rating purposes. Prior to this year it had been the task of each local authority to compile and maintain its own rating list but this had led to inconsistencies in valuations. When in 1948 a new system of government equalisation grants to local authorities was introduced uniformity in rating valuation
3965-477: The tax has been criticised for being disproportionate, with those in more expensive houses not paying as much as those in smaller houses as a proportion of the value of the house, and has therefore been called a "new poll tax for the poor". The valuation of the property is carried out by the Valuation Office Agency in England and Wales and by Scottish Assessors in Scotland. An area that
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#17327983136714030-452: The tax is set as a fixed amount for each band. The higher the band, the higher the tax. Some property is exempt from the tax, and some people are exempt from the tax, while some get a discount. In 2011, the average annual levy on a property in England was £1,196 (equivalent to £1,841 in 2023). In 2014–15, the tax raised enough money to cover 24.3% of council expenditure. Council Tax is difficult to avoid or evade and therefore has one of
4095-442: The wholesale revaluations, a major change to a property (such as an extension, or some major blight causing loss of value) can trigger a revaluation to a new estimate of the value the property would have reached if sold in 1991. If such a change would result in an increase in value, then re-banding will only take effect when the property is sold or otherwise transferred. In England , the Council Tax bands are as follows: In Wales ,
4160-494: Was a rebate for people with low incomes. The claimant could not be awarded both Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate; only the higher of the two, in relation to the claimant's circumstances, would be awarded. A non-dependant is a person that the claimant is sharing accommodation with but is not a member of their own household (that is, not a partner, dependant, etc.), such as lodgers or joint tenants. Since it would be reasonable to expect non-dependants to contribute towards
4225-426: Was essential and this could only be provided by a central organisation such as the VO. It was not feasible to absorb the extra rating staff and work into the hundred existing VO offices so a separate network of 268 new offices were opened with the majority of their staff being transferred from local authorities. Each local office was headed by a district valuer responsible for all of the rating and revenue work within
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