§ MR. HENRY HOBHOUSE (Somerset, E.)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the practice for the Inland Revenue Authorities, in making their periodical payments to the Exchequer Contribution Accounts of the County Councils, not to distinguish between the amounts derived from Probate Duty Grant and from Excise Licences; if he is aware that considerable difficulty has been caused to the Local Authorities in estimating their receipts from the Exchequer by the recent great variations in the Probate Duty Grant; and if he will direct the Inland Revenue to distinguish between the two sources of payment, and so enable the Local Authorities, by knowing the extent to which their revenue is derived from either source, to form their estimates with greater certainty?
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. H. H. FOWLER,) Wolverhampton, E.The payments in question are made by the Local Government Board out of the Local Taxation Account, and not by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. Until the final payment is made, the payments are in accordance with estimates based on the amounts of the licences and Probate Duty allocated to the several Councils in preceding years. Full information as to these amounts has been given annually in Parliamentary Returns, as soon as they have been ascertained, and copies of those Returns have been sent to every Council. The Councils 897 have, therefore, had the same means as the Local Government Board have had of knowing the extent to which their revenue is derived from licences and Probate Duty respectively, and of forming their estimates accordingly. I do not propose to suggest any alteration in the existing mode of proceeding with reference to the Local Taxation Account.
§ MR. HENRY HOBHOUSEWill the right hon. Gentleman take care there is no delay in sending the information to the County Councils?
§ MR. H. H. FOWLERCertainly.