§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill."
§ 8.45 p.m.
§ Mr. TinkerMay I ask the amount which is involved in the remission of this duty?
§ Lieut.-Colonel ColvilleI would like to say a word in explanation of the removal of this duty. It has been urged in several quarters, not only by a number of employers, but by several local employment committees. In the past the difficulty of conceding its abolition has arisen from the fact that in England and Wales the duty has formed part of the revenues of county councils and county borough councils, and the abolition would have been at their expense or they would have had to be compensated for it. They were, for the most part, unwilling to sacrifice the duty, not unnaturally. On the other hand it 1872 would have been difficult to arrange compensation. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated in 1934 that any review of the block grant would offer the best chance of reaching an agreement acceptable both to the Exchequer and the local authorities. That review has now taken place, and, as the Minister of Health stated in February, the new block grant includes £115,000 a year as compensation for the net loss of revenue which English local authorities will suffer when the duty is abolished. The necessary legislation making provision for this payment has already been passed. In Scotland the duty is an Exchequer duty, and therefore no question of compensating local authorities arises. The net loss to the Exchequer in Scotland is estimated at about £11,000 a year.