§ 76. Mr. HEWINSasked the Secretary for Scotland whether there has been any change in the method of assessing agricultural lands in Scotland since the publication of the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Taxation; in how many parishes at the present time under what is known as the "classification system" are the occupiers of agricultural land, by consent of the ratepayers, assessed for the poor rate, education rate, burial rate, and registration rate at a lower rate than the occupiers of other properties; and by how many parochial boards in boroughs with populations exceeding 10,000 has the same system been voluntarily adopted?
The SECRETARY for SCOTLAND (Mr. McKinnon Wood)The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. In reply to the second and third parts of the question, classifications allowing a lower assessment for agricultural land Han for other property in terms of Section 36 of the Poor Law (Scotland) Act, 1845, exist, according to the last Report of the Local Government Board for Scotland, in fifty-seven parishes, of which eight, namely, Dundee, Forfar, Greenock, Inverness, Kirkintilloch, Montrose, Paisley and Stirling, appear to be wholly or partly comprised within burghs with populations exceeding 10,000. The classifications have in all cases been adopted by the parochial board or parish council with the consent of the Local Government Board or its predecessor, the Board of Supervision.