A PERK which allows some of the richest people in the land to avoid paying full council tax on their weekend properties in the Dales may be abolished.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has given a strong hint that councils would be given the power to charge the full rate on second homes.

Currently home owners pay full council tax on their main place of residence. They are given a 50 per cent discount on second homes, a perk which costs Craven almost £300,000 a year in lost revenue.

At Prime Minister's Question Time, Mr Blair was tackled on the issue by Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, Cornwall.

He said: "The Prime Minister could be forgiven for believing that rural folk think of little else than supporting a handful of people who get their kicks from chasing wild animals all over the countryside. I can tell him that that is a sideshow; there are many more important issues.

"Here is a real test for the Prime Minister's rural credentials.

"Does he find it acceptable that, under the council tax system, once again this year £168 million of taxpayers' money will go towards subsidising the wealthy to have second homes when many thousands of rural folk do not even have their first home?"

The Prime Minister responded that he was "not entirely unsympathetic" to the argument.

Downing Street later confirmed that ending the discount was "being looked at" in the preparation of a policy document on rural areas to be published before the end of the year.

Any change would be welcomed by local politicians.

David Crawford, leader of Craven District Council said he would welcome any moves to end the discount on second homes.

Craven is due to vote on a resolution next week calling on the Government to end the discount.

"If the White Paper shows the Government has plans to end the discount all well and good, if not we shall be calling upon them to do so," said Coun Crawford.

Research by Craven Housing Forum showed that there were 733 homes in Craven which were not the primary residence of the owners with almost £300,000 lost in revenue. But that figure is believed to be a conservative assessment.

The Forum wants second home owners to pay a levy, equivalent to the standard council tax, which will be given back to the local community to use for building or renovating houses for use by lower income families.

In Kettlewell, 40 per cent of residences are second homes and parish council vice-chairman Ian Cuthbert said there was a strong feeling in the Dales communities that people who could afford two houses could afford to pay the council tax on both.

He welcomed the news that the Government may be coming round to that way of thinking. "Kettlewell Parish Council has been fighting for years to do away with this discount," said Mr Cuthbert.

"We can accept single people living on their own having a discount but we would prefer to see not just second home owners paying the full council tax but also a levy on top."