§ 1. Mr. Boydenasked the Attorney-General how many first registrations of title of building estates where the price paid per acre exceeded £5,000 were made by Her Majesty's Land Registry during the financial year 1960–61.
§ The Attorney-General (Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller)This information is not readily available and it could not be obtained without a wholly disproportionate expenditure of time and labour.
§ Mr. BoydenIs the Attorney-General aware that this is an extremely important problem? Is the Chief Land Registrar just putting it in for fun when he states in his annual report that an increase of this kind of registration at this cost will have a serious effect on housing in the provinces? Surely this is a matter on which information should be ascertained, and one concerning which the right hon. and learned Gentleman should be thinking of introducing legislation.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe statement made in the Chief Registrar's report was not based on any statistical records kept by the Land Registry but was simply based on observation during the year.