North West stats released on rates’ Check Challenge Appeal progress
Few people realise the statutory timescales that the VOA has to work to under the new “Check, Challenge, Appeal” regime so here they are:
- Check – VOA has 12 months to respond…
- Challenge – VOA has 18 months to respond…
- Appeal – can only be made to the Valuation Tribunal England once the Challenge stage has been completed!
So it could take two and a half years or more just to get before the Valuation Tribunal… not great for the ratepayers or local authorities who need budget certainty.
But here is a little statistical reading to welcome you back after the holidays – part of the latest “Check, Challenge, Appeal” data released by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
Based on data from between April 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018 (the lifetime of the 2017 Rating List at that point) , there were 169,390 approved properties claimed for England, down 9% on the same period previously.
From that initial influx, there were 36,310 Checks lodged with 28,040 of those resolved. That works out at 77.2% dealt with at this first hurdle of CCA where the Interested Party can check the accuracy of the information held, amend property details or provide missing factual information.
Once a Check has been completed they can move further through the system, to the next “Challenge” stage. Here there were 4,460 Challenges lodged – roughly 1 in 8 deciding they had a strong enough case to challenge the valuation. Of the 4,460 Challenges, 1,030 were resolved – averaging 23.2% over six months.
Interestingly, the Check resolve rate is, so far, broadly keeping pace with the submission rate (avg. 82.6% over 6 months), albeit there is a backlog from earlier months leading to an increasing net deficit.
But the Challenge resolve rate is far worse at 23.2%. Notwithstanding, the Agreed (well-founded) rate at the Challenge stage is quite high (60%).
Looking specifically at the North West, we can see a Check breakdown here:
Registered Resolved Outstanding
NORTH WEST 5,040 3,760 1,280
Blackburn w Darwen UA 90 70 20
Blackpool UA 110 90 20
Cheshire East UA 250 190 60
Cheshire West & Chester UA 190 150 40
Halton UA 80 60 20
Warrington UA 140 110 40
Cumbria 230 180 50
Allerdale 40 40 10
Barrow-in-Furness 20 10 10
Carlisle 40 30 10
Copeland 20 10 –
Eden 30 20 10
South Lakeland 80 60 20
Grt Manchester (Met County) 2,660 1,980 680
Bolton 140 110 30
Bury 130 110 20
Manchester 870 530 340
Oldham 110 80 30
Rochdale 120 100 20
Salford 340 290 50
Stockport 200 170 30
Tameside 130 80 50
Trafford 440 360 80
Wigan 180 150 30
Lancashire 640 480 160
Burnley 40 40 10
Chorley 50 40 10
Fylde 60 50 10
Hyndburn 60 30 30
Lancaster 80 60 20
Pendle 30 30 –
Preston 110 80 30
Ribble Valley 50 30 20
Rossendale 30 20 –
South Ribble 40 30 10
West Lancashire 50 40 10
Wyre 40 40 10
Merseyside (Met County) 670 460 200
Knowsley 50 30 10
Liverpool 320 210 110
Sefton 140 100 40
St. Helens 80 60 20
Wirral 90 60 30
Moving on, region by region, we see London and the South East easily outstripping all the other regions when it comes to the Challenge stage:
Area Registered Resolved Incomplete Outstanding
England 4,460 1,030 490 2,940
North East 160 30 10 120
North West 570 180 60 330
Yorkshire and the Humber 520 100 60 360
East Midlands 330 80 40 210
West Midlands 420 110 40 270
East 390 100 40 250
London 900 150 120 630
South East 750 190 90 470
South West 430 100 30 300
No data was released in this tranche on the Appeal stage.
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