§ Mr. MacCollI beg to move Amendment No. 43, in page 17, line 18 to leave out from "rebate" to "under" in line 19 and to insert "under section 3 and any grant".
This is a drafting Amendment. Clause 8 begins at present:
Any rebate afforded by a rating authority under section 3 and any grant paid to such an authority…".In other words, it implies cash accounting. The rate account regulations lay down income and expenditure rather than cash accounting. Therefore, in order to bring this Clause into line with those regulations the beginning will now read:Any rebate under section 3 and any grant under section 7…712 without making a distinction.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. MacCollI beg to move Amendment No. 44, in page 17, line 23, at the end to insert:
or section 6 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1963 (which relates to expenditure by a local authority in the interests of their area or its inhabitants but not otherwise authorised)".This Amendment deals with the power of local authorities to spend up to a 1d. rate on local interests, and parish councils up to a fifth of a penny. The 1d. rate question is not likely to excite local authorities. The amount involved will not be great. But, in the case of parishes, which rightly are very jealous of their freedom, they have pointed out that the net cost of rebate would depress their rate product and so reduce their spending power under Clause 6. The Amendment meets that objection and does not interfere with their free fifth of a penny.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. MacCollI beg to move Amendment No. 45, in page 17, line 25, to leave out from "rebates" to the end of line 31 and insert:
granted under the said section 3 in respect of any year shall be treated as loss on collection for that year;(b) the amount of any grants payable under the said section 7 in respect of any year shall be included in the gross rate income for that year".This Amendment does two things. First, it brings in line with the beginning of Clause 8 the removal of the words "afforded" and "paid" in order to meet the point which I have made about income and expenditure accounting. The second point concerns another parish rate product problem. By removing the reference to Section 100 of the Local Government Act, it ensures that the grant will be distributed. It will not be limited according to the formula in Section 100 and it will be open for Regulations to be made under the rate product Regulations to ensure that the parishes receive it in proportion to the rebates.
§ Amendment agreed to.