Poll Tax

Part of Opposition Day – in the House of Commons at 3:59 pm on 5 December 1990.

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Photo of Mr Michael Heseltine Mr Michael Heseltine Secretary of State for Environment 3:59, 5 December 1990

The time has now come to address both issues together.

In seeking to improve standards, central Government have begun to change attitudes to the pursuit of value for money, significantly by the establishment of the Audit Commission, but Government have yet to see sufficient progress in raising the quality of services that many local authorities deliver. In advocating accountability, successive Governments have not dealt with the structural and functional weaknesses to make accountability a reality.

We will not solve this problem unless we are prepared to recognise the proper partnership between the different parts of our democratic system——