HC Deb 25 March 1907 vol 171 cc1498-9
MR. MORTON (Sutherland)

I beg to ask the Prime Minister what are the arrangements made with regard to the Equivalent Grant to England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland; whether it has been the rule that the grant need not be spent on the same object; and whether the Equivalent Grant has been made on the principle of the amount of taxes paid by each part of the United Kingdom.

THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. Asquith,) Fifeshire, E.

No fixed rules have been or could possibly be laid down in this matter. "Equivalent Grants" have in most cases been made applicable to purposes akin to those of the original grants, but there are notable exceptions. The basis on which such grants have been calculated has been the proportion of the assumed total contributions of each country to the revenue.