§ 25. Mr. BARKERasked the Minister of Health if the population grant under the Local Government Bill will be paid direct to the district councils or through the county authority; and, if the latter, will he give an assurance that the county authority shall not retain the same in payment of arrears of precepts, in view of the financial position of the necessitous areas?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINIt is proposed that general Exchequer grant to district councils should be paid direct to the council and not through the county authority.
§ Mr. BARKERMay I call attention to the second part of the question?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI think my answer covers both parts of the question. The second part does not arise in view of the answer to the first.
§ Mr. MARDY JONESIs it a fact that in Monmouthshire, according to the right hon. Gentleman's own White Paper, certain local authorities will lose by the distribution?
§ 42. Sir WALTER PRESTONasked the Minister of Health whether under the Local Government Bill, the county councils will receive a grant to cover the loss to the county rate as a result of the de-rating after taking into account the expenses of the transferred services; and will the effect of this be to maintain the contribution of the various local authorities in the county in the same proportion as at present.
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe grant allocated to every county, that is the county apportionment, will always cover, and more than cover, the loss of rates and grants of the standard year of the county as a whole but the grant to the county council after the distribution has been made to the county districts, that is, the general Exchequer grant of the county, will not necessarily cover the loss on account of the county rates and grants including the rates and grants for the transferred services. The benefit of the total grant to the county will, therefore, be enjoyed by the general ratepayer, partly through the general Exchequer grant to the county council and partly through the direct grant to the district council. The relation between the contributions of the various local authorities to the services which will in future be covered by the county rate will necessarily be different from that now prevailing largely owing to the change in the incidence of rates for the transferred services.
§ Mr. ERNEST BROWNHas the right hon. Gentleman in mind the preparation of a table of illustrative figures to show the comparative effect on the non-county boroughs and urban districts as between the grant on this system, the secondary grant on actual population, and their loss of rates?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINNo, I have not contemplated any such table, but a great many figures will be given in the table which I am issuing.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIf this question is repeated in a week, will the right hon. Gentleman give the same answer?