Ex-Lancaster schoolboy is Durham council leader who wants Dominic Cummings to pay his £30k council tax bill

Leader of Durham County Council Simon Henig has asked for a review of the decision not to backdate the charges.

Coun Henig is the son of former Lancaster City Council leader, Stanley Henig, and Baroness Ruth Henig.

He is an ex-pupil of Moorside Primary School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School.

Dominic Cummings, who has served as chief adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson since July 2019, owes council tax charges on properties he has near Durham - where he was staying during lockdown when he controversially drove to Barnard Castle "to test his eyesight".

It has been estimated that the backdated bill for the two homes could be more than £30,000, as they were converted some years ago.

And Coun Henig now wants a review of the decision not to backdate the charges, and has asked senior officers to see if they can appeal against the decision.

ITV reported this week that Coun Henig claimed the move showed "anyone working for the Prime Minister is exempt from the rules".

The Labour councillor was responding to mounting public anger at Boris Johnson’s chief aide.

He said: "As a party that is committed to fairness, as soon as we were aware of a potential breach in regulations at North Lodge, council officers were instructed to investigate the matter.

"In turn, Durham County Council alerted the Valuation Office Agency, which provided details of the required changes in respect to the property.

"However, while there have been historical breaches of planning and building control regulation, which date back to the time of the former Durham City Council, the current council was unable to take enforcement action due to the amount of time that had elapsed.

"People will want to know how, once again, the Government's senior adviser is avoiding facing any consequences for breaching a set of regulations to which everyone else is expected to adhere.

"It seems that anyone working for the Prime Minister is exempt from the rules that apply to the rest of us.

"I have asked that all options to appeal this decision be considered.

"Furthermore, it is imperative that the Valuation Office Agency be made accountable for this decision in Parliament so that public confidence in the council tax system be maintained."

A Valuation Office Agency spokesman said: "We can't comment on individual cases. The date to be used for adding a new band to a council tax list, or changing an existing band, is set out in the law.

"The VOA has no discretion to choose a different date.

"The rules apply to all council tax list alterations and all taxpayers in the same way."