§ MR. JESSE COLLINGS (Birmingham, Bordesley)To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether the rents to be charged to the small holders by the co-operative societies who have acquired land from county councils for the purpose of small holdings will be of such an amount as to enable these societies to pay a dividend to the shareholders, to pay the cost of manage- 1838 ment, and to provide for the formation of a reserve fund.
(Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) It will rest with the elected committee of a co-operative land society to decide as to the rents to be charged to individual members for their holdings. The called-up capital will, as a rule, be small, and a nominal increase in rent should be sufficient to provide a dividend upon it. The expenses of management should also be small. The question of the provision of a reserve fund is one for the decision of the committee.