Ministers considering whether to go ahead with council tax changes

It is unclear if the Plaid Cymru Welsh government will continue with a planned revaluation of homes as part of council tax reform in 2028, or ditch the idea.

Local government minister Siân Gwenllian said the government was "actively looking" at whether it was going ahead.

She said it was Finance Minister Elin Jones's decision and discussions would take place on "next steps".

The Welsh government was asked if it was committed to a revaluation, but a spokesperson did not answer the question directly, saying it was committed to making council tax "fairer".

Reform said Plaid Cymru's "uncertainty" would "do little to reassure hard-pressed households".

Council tax covers a variety of services, including rubbish collections and social care, and is one of the biggest household bills.

Plaid made the same pledge in its Senedd election manifesto, which stated that the current system was "long overdue for reform".

Council tax reform was also part of the cooperation agreement between the previous Welsh Labour government and Plaid Cymru, when Plaid was in opposition.

Speaking to BBC Wales on Thursday, Gwenllian said: "Council tax reform is in the portfolio of the finance minister and obviously I'll be having discussions with her around exactly what will be our next steps on that one."

Asked to clarify party policy, and whether it was committed to revaluation in 2028, she said: "That's something that we're actively looking at at the moment and those conversations haven't really happened in depth yet, so you'll find out soon enough about all of that."

She went on to say the current system was not fair and that it was recognised as a "regressive regime".

Council tax reform has the potential to cause problems for politicians.

A local government source described it as a "classic zero-sum game" in which "everyone who gains stays quiet and those who lose out go ballistic".

Established in the early 1990s, council tax has long been criticised for being unfair because it is based on property prices, not on people's ability to pay.

Welsh homes have not been revalued for 23 years - during which time they have increased significantly in value - but plans to do so were postponed in 2024 by the previous Labour government after a consultation.

The decision led to criticism at the time from Plaid Cymru, economists and consumer groups.

However, the Senedd did pass legislation committing to a 2028 revaluation, so any change to the law would need another vote in the Welsh Parliament.

Under the proposals, new property bands could have been created.

The most radical idea