HC Deb 05 November 1948 vol 457 cc1138-9

Resolution reported: That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to continue certain expiring laws, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of such expenses as may be occasioned by the continuance of the Cotton Manufacturing Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1934, and the Population (Statistics) Act, 1938, until the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and of the Rent of Furnished Houses Control (Scotland) Act, 1943, and the Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, until the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and fifty, being expenses which under any of the four last-mentioned Acts are to be defrayed out of such moneys.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."

11.9 a.m.

Mr. Charles Williams (Torquay)

Before passing this Resolution, could we have a little more information from the Financial Secretary? It will be noted in the Resolution that we are committing ourselves to finding certain sums of money under four different heads and for the continuation of four different Bills. One of them is of very considerable importance, the Population (Statistics) Act, 1938, and I think that, in the circumstances, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury would be only too glad to tell the House what total sum he expects to have to find and how that sum is divided between these two Acts. Obviously, he cannot tell us exactly, but it would be a great help if we could know how the global sum may be divided.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Glenvil Hall)

If the hon. Gentleman will look at the Financial Memorandum which precedes the Bill, he will find the information he seeks set forth there. The Population (Statistics) Act, 1938, which it is proposed to continue, will involve, as he will see, an additional expenditure of the order of £4,000 per year. The Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, if continued by the will of the Committee, will probably cost an additional £125,000. The Rent of Furnished Houses Control (Scotland) Act, 1943, will involve expenditure at the estimated rate of £1,500 per year. With regard to the Cotton Manufacturing Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1934, the hon. Gentleman will see that the expenditure is not certain, but it is obviously very small.

Mr. Williams

I am much obliged to the Financial Secretary.

Question put, and agreed to.