§ Mr. BRIGGasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in the comparison of revenue in the London Gazette of 16th February the figures for the Excise revenue include the revenue from the licences transferred to county councils by the last Budget Act, or whether the comparison deducts the amount of those licences, as is done apparently in the Estimate for Excise for the whole year; in other words, whether the fall in the Excise is owing to the transfer of licences or to some other cause?
§ Mr. LLOYD-GEORGEThe figures for Exchequer receipts in 1907-8 include all licences, but the figures for 1908-9 ex-elude Establishment, etc., Licences which have been transferred from 1st January, 1909, to the local authorities. The decrease in Excise revenue to 13th February, 1909, on account of the transfer of licences, is (approximately) £950,000, the further decrease of £1,260,000 being due to the fall in beer and spirit revenues, and to the fact that the period of comparison includes two days less in 1908–9 than in 1907–8.
§ Mr. BRIGGasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures to show how the sum of £1,270,000, by which the revised Estimate of Excise Revenue for 1908-9 fell short of the Estimate on account of the transfer of certain licences to local authorities, was arrived at, as Parliamentary Paper, No. 291, gives the net revenue from these licences for 1907-8 as about £1,818,588?
§ Mr. LLOYD-GEORGEThe revenue of £1,818,588, as shown in Parliamentary Paper 291, is the net receipt for the 12 months ended 31st March, 1908, derived from the establishment licences in the United Kingdom. £1,270,000 is the estimate of the probable receipt of those 850 licences, during the March quarter of 1908-9, in England and Wales only.