Students should face paying council tax, Lib Dems say

First Published by: The Telegraph

The Liberal Democrats are calling for students to face paying council tax for the first time, Whitehall documents reveal.

At a meeting between Government ministers and local government leaders, a senior Liberal Democrat indicated that councils should be free to charge students Council Tax. Those attending a full-time college or university course are currently exempt from the levy – which typically costs more than £1,000 for an average home.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has released minutes of a meeting held last October between Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary and senior figures at the Local Government Association, under Freedom of Information laws.

At the meeting, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the leader of Liberal Democrat councillors and head of Portsmouth City Council said: “Local authorities should have greater discretion over Council Tax exemptions and discounts, such as the student exemption”. 

The comments are likely to reopen controversy within the Liberal Democrats over the party’s treatment of students. The party campaigned against increasing tuition fees at the last election – before ultimately supporting a rise in the fees to up to £9,000 from this September.

The decision caused outrage among Liberal Democrat supporters, many of whom are students. A call to increase the cost of being a student by hundreds of pounds through the introduction of council tax is likely to prove deeply unpopular.

It is understood that the Conservatives are strongly opposed to ending the student exemption on council tax.

The Liberal Democrats have been broadly criticised over the issue of tuition fees, after reneging on pre-election promises not to raise university charges. While in opposition, leader Nick Clegg pledged to abandon the fees altogether and won the support of thousands of students across Britain.

Before the election, he signed a promise not to raise tuition fees, saying unequivocally: “We want to abolish tuition fees. We think they're wrong.” But after joining the coalition government, he claimed the economic situation forced him to accept the rise.

His party signed up to government policy allowing institutions to charge up to £9,000 pounds a year, a change which saw student fees rocket. Tens of thousands of students took to the streets to protest against the rise, wielding effigies and placards accusing the Lib Dem leader of “conning” them. He later admitted he had “not been able to deliver the policy that we held in opposition” and blamed the financial situation for the change.

At the time, Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman ridiculed Mr Clegg, claiming he had “hawked” his way around university campuses seeking student votes ahead of the general election. She joked: “We all know what it's like: you are at freshers' week, you meet up with a dodgy bloke and you do things that you regret. "Isn't it true he has been led astray by the Tories, isn't that the truth of it?"

Mr Clegg later commented: “In politics, just as in life, sometimes the things that you want to do, it turns out that you just can't do them.” The Liberal Democrats today insisted that they were not in favour of ending the student exemption for council tax and said the minutes were not an accurate reflection of their views.

In a statement, the party said: "These minutes are not an accurate representation of what was a much broader policy discussion. “Gerald is not in favour of getting rid of the student exemption. He is in favour of proper localisms, where councils have the power to decide what is right for them in their areas.

“Neither the Government nor the Liberal Democrats are in favour of ending the student exemption.”

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