§ 20. Mr. Aylesasked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the loss being sustained by the Hayes Urban District Council, Middlesex, owing to Section 64 of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, under which Crown properties are not subject to the ordinary method of valuation, but the Crown makes a contribution in aid of rates; and as by reason of the recent increase in the number of Crown properties in their district and throughout the country, the continued operation of such provision is increasingly inequitable to local authorities, whether he will introduce legislation to end this state of affairs at the earliest possible date.
§ Mr. BevanI cannot accept the statement that contributions from national funds in lieu of rates in respect of Crown property involve local authorities throughout the country in loss, and I can hold out no hope of legislation on the lines suggested.
§ Mr. AylesWill the Minister see that the ex-gratia payments which are made approximate more nearly to the rates that would have been received by the local authority in the ordinary way?
§ Mr. BevanI car recollect no representations having been made by associations of local authorities on the point. I am quite certain that if they felt aggrieved they would be very active in raising the matter.