Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:20 pm on 3 February 2005.
I understand my hon. Friend's concern, which she is not alone in expressing. The changes that she describes, which will come into effect in April, are necessary as part of a wider package that the Chancellor announced to reduce pressures on local authority budgets, thus helping to protect front-line services and, crucially, to keep council tax increases—which she is concerned about, as we all are—under 5 per cent. in the coming year. If those changes are not implemented, local government would face increasing pension costs of about £300 million per annum over the next three years, which could involve cuts in services, front-line jobs and pressure on council taxes. These are difficult matters, but her concern is being taken into account.