HC Deb 21 February 1967 vol 741 cc1500-2
Dr. Dickson Mabon

I beg to move Amendment No. 20, in page 15, line 44, after 'deficit', to insert: (a) in the case of any house completed before the beginning of the financial year commencing in 1968. It might be for the convenience of the House if we discuss with it Amendments Nos. 21 and 27.

Mr. Speaker

If the Opposition have no objection, so be it.

Dr. Mahon

The Amendments are necessary to take account of the new rate support grant in the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1966. Amendments Nos. 20 and 21 cover the point raised by the Opposition in the Standing Committee when their Amendments were explained by me to be premature inasmuch as we did not have the Royal Assent to the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1966, and they were withdrawn on the general commitment that the appropriate Government Amendments would be put down at the correct stage. As the Government see it, this is the correct stage.

Paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 at present provides that for the purposes of calculating Clause 5 supplementary subsidy any deficit brought out by the notional housing revenue account comparison required by paragraph 1 of the Schedule is to be reduced by the percentage of Exchequer equalisation grant applicable to the authority. The deduction is necessary to avoid a duplication of Exchequer assistance in respect of an authority's housing deficit.

The Amendments are necessary to change paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 since Sections 1 and 2 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1966 terminate Exchequer equalisation grant after the present financial year, 1966–67, and introduce a system of rate support grants to local authorities. The new grants include a resources element which will have functions similar to those of the present E.E.G. and it is, therefore, necessary to amend paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to provide for the deduction of the appropriate amount of rate support grant.

Paragraph 2 (a) of Schedule 2 will cover supplementary subsidy calculations for houses completed during or before the financial year 1967–68 when Exchequer equalisation grant payable in 1966–67 and the earlier years will be relevant and will need to be deducted.

6.45 p.m.

Amendment No. 27 provides for similar Amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1962. Rate support grants may also be relevant to subsidy calculations under that Act. The point arises only where houses approved under the 1962 Act are completed during the financial year 1968–69. That is, however, likely to occur in a few cases, particularly the larger multi-storey schemes, and provision must be made for deduction of the appropriate amount of rate support grant.

The Opposition wanted us to make Amendments and I agreed that we should make them at the appropriate stage. I thought it would be wise to do it here on Report rather than leave a discussion which is very pertinent to us to another place.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: No. 21, in page 16, line 3, after 'year' insert: ',and (b) in the case of any house completed on or after the first day of the financial year commencing in 1968, the same proportion as the amount of the resources element of the rate support grant payable to the local authority for the relevant financial year under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966 bears to the authority's relevant local expenditure as certified by the Secretary of State to have been estimated according to the latest estimate made before the end of the relevant financial year, as calculated for the purposes of Part II of Schedule 1 to that Act in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 of the said Part 11.'.—[Dr. Dickson Mahon.]

Dr. Dickson Mabon

I beg to move Amendment No. 22, in page 17, line 22, at the end to insert: 8. Where, by reason of a change in the areas of local authorities, houses are transferred from one local authority to another local authority, the Secretary of State may, having regard to the gross annual values of the houses and the date and circumstances of their transfer, direct that such other method of calculation as he may consider appropriate shall be used for the purposes of this Part of this Schedule in lieu of the method of calculation specified in the two last foregoing paragraphs. We have already discussed the Amendment, Mr. Speaker.

Amendment agreed to.