§
Motion made, and Question proposed.
That a Supplementary sum, not exceeding £213,520, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1920, for rates and contributions in lieu of rates, etc., in respect of Government property, and for rates on houses occupied by representatives of foreign powers, and for the salaries and expenses of the Rating of Government Property Department, and for a contribution towards the expenses of the London fire brigade.
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Baldwin)A brief explanation of the Vote is desirable. I am sure every Member of the Committee will realise that on this Vote it is impossible, in a time of rising prices, to avoid a Supplementary Estimate. The 763 increase in the Vote is divided into two portions. The first portion is the result of increases of war bonuses which have been given by the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards in the course of the last year. In the second part, if you include England and Scotland, we are asking for a sum of £212,000. It is common knowledge to hon. Members that owing to causes that are beyond the control of the local authorities, the rates throughout the United Kingdom are rising. The principal causes, of course, are the largely increased wages that are being paid to police and to employés of all descriptions, and to the increasing cost of every kind of labour that has to be undertaken by the municipal authorities, and also to the extra cost of education, which is now being felt by the ratepayers no less than the taxpayers. My only wonder is that the amount that we have to ask for in these circumstances is not greater than it is. I have been at some pains to analyse the figures, which I am sure will be of interest to the Committee, although they will understand that in the course of the year it is very difficult to pick out exactly the figures that you want. There are cases where the payment of rates on Government property have been in suspense. There are cases where large increases have been made on Government establishments, both in the southern and the northern parts of the United Kingdom. Roughly, no less a sum than £80,000 out of the £212,000 is directly owing to the arrears that have to be paid on those properties for which no rates had been settled before this financial year, although if they had been, they would have been payable at an earlier date. That means a balance of about £130,000, which is directly due to increased poundage which is found generally from one end of the United Kingdom to the other.
Captain BENNAre these contributions in lieu of rates calculated in the same way as the local rates and handed over by the Government? Are they of like amount?
§ Mr. BALDWINYes, they are of like amount. Strictly speaking, we are not liable for rates in the way ordinary ratepayers are, but the rates are arranged between our local authority and the rating authority. Generally speaking, these rates are arranged with the minimum of friction, 764 and are paid over to the local councils. They have been brought before this House before. When some difficulty arises, I always do my best to see that it is amicably and speedily arranged. I do not think that any blame attaches to the Departmental officers for any delay that has occurred. The hon. Member will understand easily that in places that have increased very much, like Rosyth, near his own constituency, or the Arsenal at Woolwich, or the rifle factory at Enfield, where very large increases were made during the war, it is not easy to decide quickly what an equitable distribution of the rates would be. But these matters have in the course of the year been agreed, and about £80,000 of the £212,000, of course, is due directly to arrears.
Captain BENNWhat is going to be done about the quinquennial valuation? Obviously the valuation of many premises in London wil be greatly raised.
§ Mr. BALDWINWhenever a valuation is followed by a substantial rise, the Government have to take that into consideration, but we must wait and see. Those are the very simple reasons that have led us to ask the Committee to sanction this Supplementary Estimate The amount paid in rates has, of course, been rising for many years past with the Government just as much as with any private ratepayer, and though we may look for some relief as buildings which are in the occupation of the Government are given up, I am afraid there is very little chance of the Government in the near future obtaining any more relief than the private ratepayer.