"We must end the rebanding double-whammy" - German

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 3rd Oct 2005

"Stop the injustice of council tax rebanding!" That's the message from Mike German as he heads to a meeting of Council chiefs in Swansea today.

Mr German, who will be one of the speakers at the Welsh Local Government Association's Annual conference, called on his fellow AMs to ensure that no-one will have to pay a second rise of more than 20% in two years.

"The Rebanding roulette wheel has resulted in people living in Wales seeing their council tax bills go through the roof. Many, regardless of their income or circumstances, will have seen rises of over 20% last year, and would face similar rises this year unless we take action.

"This injustice has been compounded by the decision of the Westminster Government to shelve rebanding in England. The Labour Assembly Government have managed to achieve what I thought was impossible - making council tax more unpopular today than it was 12 months ago.

"I am calling on all my colleagues in the Assembly to work with me to ensure no-one in Wales faces a second banding jump. Local Government leaders of all parties were able to reach this agreement - it should not be beyond our wits to do the same in the Assembly."

Mr German today tabled a statement of opinion calling for all AMs to support measures to ensure the double whammy of rebanding does not hit households in Wales.

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr German will call for the devolution train to reach destinations across Wales and not just Cardiff Bay. Outlining his ambitions for 'Developing Devolution', he stresses the importance of local accountability and local decision making.

He said: "The Beecham review and the ASPB merger process offer opportunities to improve democratic accountability. These can work for the benefit of local services if government can pass back functions to local authorities, not just into the Assembly Government.

"Labour's threat of tinkering again with local authority borders at worst shows their unwillingness to accept losing control in those areas. They mustn't forget that changing structures is no alternative to real action. This centralising tendency can be seen with Charles Clarke's police shake-up.

"They should allow local government to get on with the jobs they're best placed to do. In Developing Devolution, the next stage must be greater freedom for councils, and power given back to the people."