The Government has hit back at claims it has revalued council tax bills by stealth and sent bill soaring for 70,000 homes.

Liberal Democrat local government spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy said last week 70,000 homes had moved up a higher council tax band since 1997 and were paying £200 extra a year after being inspected by officials from the Valuation Office Agency.
‘It's time that the Government come clean and either admits that a programme of stealth revaluation is occuring or recognises that council tax is not working,' said Ms Goldsworthy.
‘Until they ditch this unfair and unpopular tax, families will continue to face unaffordable council tax bills, based not on the ability to pay, but simply on the value of their time,' she added. But a spokesman for the CLG rubbished the Liberal Democrat claims.
‘As we have said on many occasions, there is no revaluation of council tax taking place,' said the spokesman.
‘Any claim to the contrary is absolute nonsense and nothing more than scaremongering, and only serves to make people, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, needlessly frightened.'