§ 63. Mr. MANSFIELDasked the Minister of Health if he will consider an alteration being made to Section 11 (1) of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, whereby poor people may be excused payment of rates by the rating authority?
§ Mr. GREENWOODA rating authority is already empowered to excuse the payment of rates on the ground of the poverty of the person directly liable to them for those rates. I cannot hold out any hopes of legislation for an ex-tension of this power in cases in which the rating authority, in the exercise of their discretion under the provisions to which my hon. Friend refers, have re-solved to rate the owners of certain classes of property in lieu of the occu- 2213 piers or have entered into agreements with owners for the payment of the rates.