HC Deb 20 February 1968 vol 759 cc217-9
7. Mr. Willey

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what amount of land has been acquired by the. Land Commission; and how much of the land has been disposed for development.

21. Mr. William Price

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many pieces of land have to date been purchased by the Land Commission.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Mr. Niall MacDermot)

The Commission is negotiating for the acquisition of some 800 acres in Great Britain for disposal mainly to house-builders and also to local authorities. None has yet reached the stage of completion. Many other cases are being investigated.

Mr. Willey

Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that the Land Commission should now be getting under way? Can he assure me that it will not be subject to Treasury brakes?

Mr. MacDermot

I do not think that there is any question of Treasury restraint in developing the programme. I agree with my right hon. Friend that this is a time for us to look forward to the Commission's acquisition programme getting under way. It would not have been right for it to have attempted to plunge at once into its acquisition programme without making a proper examination of land supply and demand. That is what the Commission has been doing in the short time in which it has been in existence.

Mr. Price

Is not my hon. and learned Friend's Answer an astonishing admission of failure? If, as we are told, the Commission has a staff of 1,300, can he estimate what footage each civil servant will require in the first 12 months?

Mr. MacDermot

I do not agree that this indicates failure. The majority of the staff are concerned with the collection of levy and not with the land acquisition programme. As I have said, it would not have been right to plunge at once into the acquisition programme. Careful preparation and consultation are required before the Commission begins the process of acquisition, which itself is a lengthy process.

Mr. Costain

Does not the hon. and learned Gentleman appreciate that 800 acres is about three days' supply of land? Is not this deplorable? Does not he realise that builders are hopelessly short of land? What is he going to do about it?

Mr. MacDermot

I agree that 800 acres is a small amount but, as I have said, many other cases are being investigated and these cover many thousands of acres.

22. Mr. William Price

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how much the Land Commission will cost during its first 12 months; and what is its estimated income during the same period.

Mr. MacDermot

Approximately £3.2 million. I must ask my hon. Friend to await the Financial Statement for the first year's yield of levy, but the build up of this and of the proceeds from land transactions is still in the very early stages.

Mr. Price

Is it not apparent that the Land Commission is a very expensive luxury? Would it not be wise to scrap it and start again? Is not the answer the public ownership of all building land?

Mr. MacDermot

My hon. Friend's solution would be rather more expensive. As I have explained in answer to an earlier Question, inevitably the build-up of the work of the Commission has been slow to start with, and the yield of the levy during the first year will not be great, largely because of the extensive concessions made during the passing of the Act to minimise hardship in the initial period.

Mr. Graham Page

Does not the hon. and learned Gentleman think that his hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mr. William Price) should have stopped his supplementary question at the words "scrap it", and left it at that? Has not the expenditure of this £3.2 million resulted merely in making land more scarce and more expensive?

Mr. MacDermot

No. There is another Question later dealing with land prices. The hon. Gentleman's conclusions are quite wrong.