§ Mr. JODRELL(by Private Notice) asked the Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture if his attention had been drawn to the fact that a large number of landowners throughout England are not aware that in order to redeem Tithe Rentcharge under the present Government Scheme, notice must be duly given by them before the end of the current month and that their failure to do so may entail very serious loss to themselves and will he take immediate steps to make this widely known through the Press?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of AGRICULTURE (Sir Arthur Boscawen)There is no reason to think that the position as regards tithe redemption is not generally understood by landowners. Since the passing of the Tithe Act, 1918, the Ministry has taken various measures to bring the redemption provisions of that Act to the notice of landowners and their professional advisers. Many thousands of the Ministry's leaflet on the subject have by arrangement with the Law Society, the Land Agents' Society, the Surveyors' Institution and the Auctioneers' Institute, 1449 been sent to them for distribution among their Members. Press notices on the same subject have from time to time been issued by the Ministry and published in the organs of the professions concerned in land. Material has, moreover, been supplied to such associations as the Central Landowners' Association to be embodied in circulars on tithe redemption issued to their members. I have, however, given instructions for another notice to be issued to the Press. Since the Tithe Act, 1918, redemption business has enormously increased, the average amount of tithe rent-charge included in applications in each week for some time past having been approximately equal to the total for three entire years immediately before the War.