Legislative casualties

Lobbydog hears that the Children, Schools and Families Bill is to be dropped from the Government’s agenda.

It is one of the bits of legislation that will fall casualty as the parties negotiate what will be allowed through the Commons before Parliament is dissolved.

Ed Balls had said the Bill would deliver more powers for parents, more help for kids falling behind to catch up and more powers for Government to intervene in “failing” schools.

Meanwhile some of the unpopular tax hikes announced in the budget have also been dropped off the agenda.

The Tories were claiming credit today for getting the ‘phone tax’, the ‘cider tax’, and the ‘holiday lettings tax’ scrapped.

The 10% hike in tax on cider seemed to catch the public imagination in particular – before we knew it The Wurzels were all over the papers and opposition politicians were supping from pints of Merrydown.

The phone tax would have seen people paying 50p per month plus VAT for fixed lines from October 1 2010.

Meanwhile, the Government has apparently dropped plans to abolish tax relief for furnished holiday lettings – a plan that didn’t go down well in areas where tourism is a key industry.