House call

IN ToMoRRoW’S Budget, the Chancellor has a perfect opportunity to transform the housing market.

First, he must relax the rules on the use of green belt land to allow more housing to be built near urban areas.

Second, there should be no soundbites aimed at first-time buyers regarding stamp duty holidays. Instead, this pernicious tax should be removed from all house purchases.

This should be announced in conjunction with an overhaul of council tax, where the highest band has not been updated since 1991.

New higher bands should be introduced at £1,000 per million in house value, to be revalued every five years. This would ensure that highvalue properties, whether occupied or not, would contribute to the community, enabling the council to boost public welfare, social services and council housing stock.

PAUL LANGTRY, Kingsley Green, W. Sussex.