HC Deb 13 May 1947 vol 437 cc1331-4

Elimination of overlap between owner-occupied supplement and increase of converted value payment.

1.— (1) Where an interest in land the value of which falls to be ascertained in accordance with the provisions of Part II of the Act of 1944 for the purposes of the compensation payable on a compulsory acquisition thereof is an interest in a hereditament or part of a hereditament which has sustained war damage, then if—

  1. (a) by virtue of Section fourteen of the War Damage Act, 1943, or of any direction given by the Treasury under Section twenty of that Act, a value payment falls to be made in respect of the damage so far as not made good before the date of the acquisition; and
  2. (b) the amount of that payment falls to be increased by virtue of the War Damage (Increase of Value Payments) Order, 1947. or any subsequent Order made by the Treasury under Section eleven of the said Act; and
  3. (c) the person entitled to the compensation payable in respect of the compulsory acquisition of the interest in question is also entitled by virtue of Section fifty-eight of the Act of 1944 either as originally enacted or as amended by the Acquisition of Land (Increase of Supplement) Order, 1946, or any subsequent Order made by the Treasury under Section sixty of that Act, to receive a supplement to that compensation, the amount of the compensation payable in respect of the compulsory acquisition shall be reduced in the manner provided by this paragraph by such sum as may be appripriate, not exceeding the amount by which the value payment is increased as aforesaid, or the amount of the supplement payable as aforesaid, whichever is the less.

(2) Any reduction required by virtue of this paragraph to be made in the compensation payable in respect of the compulsory acquisition of an interest in land shall be effected as follows: that is to say, the War Damage Commission shall pay to the Minister or authority by whom that interest is compulsorily acquired a sum equal to the amount of the reduction, together with interest thereon at the rate of two and a half per cent. per annum from the date of the acquisition, and shall deduct that amount (including interest thereon as aforesaid) from the amount of any value payment or share of the value payment (including interest on any such payment or share) payable by the Commission under the War Damage Act, 1943, to the person from whom that interest is acquired

(3) Any sum payable by the War Damage Commission to a Minister or authority by virtue of the provisions of this paragraph in respect of the compulsory acquisition of any interest in land shall be paid at the time when the value payment or share of a value payment payable to the owner of that interest under the War Damage Act, 1943, is discharged.

(4) Any question arising under this paragraph as to what reduction is appropriate in the compensation payable in respect of the compulsory acquisition of an interest in land shall, in default of agreement, be referred to and determined by the War Damage Commission, whose decision shall be final; and paragraph 6 of the First Schedule to the War Damage Act, 1943 (which enables the Commission to regulate the procedure for the determination of questions subject to determination by them under that Act) shall have effect as if any question falling to be determined by the Commission under this paragraph were a question subject to determination by them under that Act.

(5) Where an interest in land which has been acquired by agreement before the commence ment of this Act by a person authorised by virtue of any enactment to acquire it compulsorily is an interest in a hereditament or part of a hereditament which has sustained war damage then if—

  1. (a) the conditions specified in sub-para graphs (1) (a) and (1) (b) of this paragraph are satisfied in relation thereto; and
  2. (b) the person to whom the purchase price is payable in respect of the acquisition of the interest in question would, if the interest had been acquired compulsorily, have been entitled to any such supplement as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) (c) of this paragraph;
the amount of the purchase price payable in respect of the acquisition shall be reduced by such sum as may be appropriate, not exceeding the amount by which the value payment is increased as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (I) (b) of this paragraph, or the amount of the supplement which would have been payable as aforesaid, whichever is the less; and sub paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this paragraph shall apply in relation to the reduction required by virtue of this sub-paragraph to be made in the purchase price as if for any reference in those sub-paragraphs to the compulsory acquisition of an interest in land or to the amount of the compensation payable in respect of that acquisition there were substituted respectively a reference to the acquisition of an interest in land by agreement arid to the purchase price payable in respect of that acquisition.

(6) The reference in sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph to the date of acquisition of an interest in land shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of Subsection (3) of Section fourteen of the War Damage Act, 1943.

Extension of owner-occupier supplement to certain agricultural land.

2. In subsection (2) of section fifty-seven of the Act of 1944, and paragraph 4 of the Seventh Schedule to that Act, references to agricultural holdings and to holdings as defined for the purposes of the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1923, shall be construed as including references to any land which, if it were held by a tenant, would be a holding as so defined.

Assessment of compensation by reference to after-damage value

3.—(1) Where under section sixty-one of the Act of 1944, the value of any land in a hereditament which has sustained war damage is for the purpose of a compulsory acquisition required to be ascertained, in accordance with the provisions of the Eighth Schedule to that Act, by reference to the certified after-damage value of the hereditament, then if—

  1. (a) the hereditament consists of premises in respect of which a justices' licence within the meaning of the Licensing (Consolidation) Act, /91o, was in force or in suspense at the time when the war damage occurred; and
  2. (b) between that time and the time when the notice to treat was served there had been any change in the circumstances of the licence, whether by extinction, removal or suspension by virtue of section ten of the Finance Act, 1942, or section twelve of the Finance Act, 1946.
sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph (1) of the said Eighth Schedule shall have effect as if the change constituted a material difference in the state of the premises and the change shall be taken into account under the said subparagraph in determining the value of the premises under the War Damage Act, 1943, by reference to the state of the premises at the time when the notice to treat is served

(2) Neither the right to land tax in respect of any land nor the right to a redemption annuity under the Tithe Act, [936, in respect of any land shall be taken into account as interests in land under paragraph z of the Eighth Schedule to the Act of 1944, but such adjustments of the certified after-damage value of the hereditament shall be made for the purposes of that Schedule as are necessary to produce for those purposes the result which would have been produced there for if liability to land tax or to any such annuity had been included among the burdens referred to in paragraph (1) (c) of the Second Schedule to the War Damage Act, 1943.—[Mr. Silkin.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Silkin

I beg to move, "That the Schedule be read a Second time."

I gave an explanation of the greater part of this Schedule yesterday in answer to an Amendment which was moved by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. W. S. Morrison), who moved an Amendment for the purpose of getting an explanation. As is stated in the marginal note, the purpose of the Schedule is to eliminate overlap between the owner-occupier supplement of 60 per cent. and the increase of converted value payment. Without this provision, it would be possible for an owner whose land is being acquired to get the 60 per cent. twice over. I am sure that not even hon. and right hon. Gentlemen opposite would wish that to happen. The first six paragraphs of the Schedule are devoted to that. The remainder of the Schedule is a re-arrangement of Clauses 38 and 39 of the Bill, which, as will be remembered, have been deleted as a result of a previous Amendment. It was thought more appropriate to put those Clauses in this new Schedule.

Question put, and agreed to.

Schedule read Second time, and added to the Bill.

5.10 p.m.

Bill reported, with Amendments; as amended (in the Standing Committee and on recommittal) considered.