HC Deb 22 November 1954 vol 533 cc915-6

Lords Amendment: In page 61, line 32, at end, insert: Provided that, in relation to—

  1. (i) land acquired for use as a public open space; or
  2. (ii) such part, if any, of any land appropriated as mentioned in subsection (2) of this section as is intended for such use,
the regulations may provide that, if in any particular case the Minister is satisfied that, having regard to the expenditure in respect of which the grant is to be made and the financial circumstances of the local authority concerned, it is just that a higher grant should be made, the amount of the grant in that particular case shall be an amount equal to such percentage, exceeding fifty but not exceeding seventy-five per cent., of the costs, excess or expenditure aforesaid as the Minister may determine.

Mr. Sandys

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

I do not think I need say very much about this proposal. This Amendment provides that additional grants up to 25 per cent., making a maximum of 75 per cent. in all, may where necessary be given to local authorities to assist them in meeting the cost of providing land for open spaces, and, in particular, for the encouragement of playing fields.

Mr. Sparks

I should like to welcome this Amendment on behalf of hon. and right hon. Gentlemen on this side of the House. We feel that the right hon. Gentleman has done the right thing here in helping local authorities to acquire land for public open spaces, but there is one point that I think requires to be cleared up. The Amendment contains the words: … having regard to the expenditure in respect of which the grant is to be made and the financial circumstances of the local authority concerned, and it provides for a higher grant being made. Does that really mean that the right hon. Gentleman contemplates that in some cases the grant will be only 50 per cent. while in others it may be 75 per cent.?

I think it would be of importance to the House and to the local authorities if we could know what exactly was in the Minister's mind and what he means by the financial circumstances of the local authority concerned. It usually happens that the cost of land for public open spaces is very much higher in congested areas, where it is badly needed, than it is in rural areas. On this side of the House we would like to know what the right hon. Gentleman has in mind and how he proposes to determine whether the financial circumstances of a local authority are such as to justify his paying the higher grant. What is the data upon which he will work? We ought to know something about that.

Mr. Sandys

By leave of the House, may I say that we are following what, to the other side of the House, is no doubt a very respected precedent. Under the 1947 Act, the rate of grant which was available varied from 20 per cent. to 50 per cent., according to the financial circumstances of the local authority concerned. In this case, we are concerned with two questions: first, the same question of financial resources and, secondly, the more important one, the cost of obtaining the land. That cost will vary considerably from area to area, and to some extent will be affected by the Bill. Some authorities will be affected more than others. The cost will tend to be somewhat higher in areas where, for example, the land which the authority wishes to acquire is on the fringe of an expanding city.

Question put, and agreed to. [Special Entry.]