The number of homes that qualified for council tax payments increased by 133,000 across England last year, including a rise of 50,000 across London and the southeast, according to new CLG figures.

The total number of dwellings on the Valuation Office list in England in September was 22.9m. CLG figures also show the number of dwellings on the valuation list that are exempt from council tax decreased by 1% compared with 2010, the first decline in the figures since 2001.