§ 3.40 p.m.
§ Mr. Ian Gow (Eastbourne)I beg to move
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to repeal the Community Land Act 1975.This is a short, straightforward Bill which has one clause. This clause reads:The Community Land Act 1975 is hereby repealed.If it should go through the House and another place unamended, it will be the shortest Act of Parliament ever to reach the statute book. It sets a precedent for less complicated legislation—a goal that is dear to the heart of my right hon. Friend, the Leader of the Opposition.The Community Land Act replaced the Land Commission Act 1967, but it comes from the same Socialist stable. We should note the comments of the celebrated Left-wing diarist, Mr. Richard Crossman, who said of the 1967 Act:
The Land Commission was a total failure. It was one of our great disappointments. It was going to be one of our great Labour institutions. It was going to solve the price of land, but the problem is worse than ever.Thus Mr. Crossman on the Bill that was introduced while he was Leader of the House.We do not know who is the current diarist in the Cabinet, but the man best qualified is Mr. Crossman's literary executor, the Lord President of the Council. I predict that he will reach the same conclusion about the Community Land Act as his predecessor in his post reached about the Land Commission Act.
According to the Long Title of the Act its purpose was
to enable local authorities and certain other authorities to acquire, manage and deal with land suitable for development, and to make other provision for and in connection with the public ownership of land.It is two and a quarter years since the Act received Royal Assent. It is true that there have emerged from it thousands of civil servants employed centrally and locally and an expenditure of millions of pounds. But virtually no land has emerged for development. The Act imposed on local authorities powers and duties that they never sought. They had no experience of these powers, and no desire to carry them out, but they were 244 laid upon them because of the perpetual failure of Socialists to recognise the superiority of a nationwide property-owning democracy over the collectivist concept of community land.The Bill was introduced by the present Minister of Agriculture. He claimed that the Act would be the total solution to the land problem. But the plan received a heavy blow in December 1976, when guidance note No. 12 announced that the previous borrowing limits for local authorities to buy land had been reduced from £76 million to £38 million for 1977–78 and from £102 million to £64 million in 1978–79. It was stated that if local authorities did not actually use the loan sanction that they had been granted by the end of 1977, the permission to borrow the money would lapse.
The five-year rolling programmes were scrapped and local authorities were told to adjust their staff to the new austerity arrangements. By then, 225 district councils, 36 county councils, all the London boroughs and two special planning boards had submitted provisional five-year rolling programmes to the Secretary of State. A great deal of abortive staff work had taken place, for which the Minister refused to compensate local government, although the fault was entirely his, and there was a great waste of both time and money, which was predictable and predicted.
At the end of the first financial year local authorities had spent only half of the £24 million for which loan sanction had been granted. This left £12 million unused, approval for which has now lapsed. In England in the first full year of operation of the Act, 1,571 acres were acquired of which 832 acres were bought for housing. But only 32 acres were resold to developers. The acquisition cost £6.25 million, but receipts were only £295,000.
The statutory Community Land Accounts of English local authorities, which include staff costs as well as land acquisitions and disposals, showed a deficit of £1.7 million in 1975–76 and of £18.2 million in 1976–77. Thus, in the first two years of State trading in land there has been a £20 million deficit for the taxpayer.
The Act was supposed to accelerate the supply of building land and speed up 245 the house-building programme. It has had precisely the opposite effect. Planning delays already add hundreds of pounds to the cost of new houses and the Act has made things worse. There have been ominous signs that the shortage of building land will lead to fewer homes and higher prices. It is true that there has emerged from the Department of the Environment and the Scottish and Welsh Offices vast quantities of Government paper. Indeed, the bureaucracy does roll on.
Nine orders and regulations have been made jointly by the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Scotland and Wales. In addition there have been four other English orders, 14 English directions, 30 English circulars, six Scottish orders, two Scottish directions, 29 Scottish circulars and two Scottish publicity directions, five Welsh guidance notes, and two Welsh directions to the Land Authority. Much of this is incomprehensible and contradictory, describing not the situation existing in the real world but only the theoretical machinations of a frenzied ministerial mind.
The House should know something of the paper that is pouring out of No. 2 Marsham Street under the auspices of the Community Land Act. I refer to the guidance note of 7th September last year which was headed
Community Land Notes, GNLA/14—Application for Loan Sanction.It said:Dear Sir, The enclosed note contains fresh guidance on the submission of applications for loan sanction under the community land scheme.It goes on:Discussions between the Department and the Local Authority Associations suggests that there may be some misapprehension by authorities about the criteria set out in paragraph 12 of GNLA/12 and the exceptions in paragraph 14 of that Note. The following paragraphs contain further guidance, and these points should be read in conjunction with GNLA/12.You may think that that is from a horror comic, Mr. Speaker. It is not. It is the sort of thing that comes from the Department of the Environment. The guidance goes on:Authorities will new have had an opportunity to study the Government White Paper `Policy for the Inner Cities'.In a more sinister way the final paragraph says: 246Long-term, speculative land-banking must necessarily continue to be ruled out at this stage in the life of the land scheme".I underline the ominous words "at this stage".It is clear that the Act has failed dismally to achieve the objectives of these orders. It is clear that a fresh approach is required and that this fresh approach has, as its essential precondition, the repeal of the Act.
§ 3.50 p.m.
§ Mr. Frank Allaun (Salford, East) rose—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Does the hon. Gentleman wish to oppose the Bill?
§ Mr. AllaunYes, Mr. Speaker. I wish to oppose the Bill and to make three main points. First, there is a vital need for the Act and the development land tax which is part of it. Secondly, many Conservative leaders have a financial interest in wanting to end the Act and reduce the tax. Thirdly, far from repealing these measures, we should greatly strengthen them by stopping the massive exemptions.
The hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Gow) said that this was a short Bill. I hope that the House will give it short shrift. We are dealing with the classic case of a real conflict of interests between great land owners and ordinary families seeking a home at a reasonable price or rent.
The Act came into being to defeat the landowners' ramp. Take the case of a plot of land eight miles outside London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool or any other great city. The local council builds roads to it, and gas, electricity, sewers and water are laid on. A factory is built nearby and, all around, the population grows. One day, the council gives planning permission to build on that land and overnight a potato field can turn into a gold mine. The value of the land can increase 100-fold within 24 hours. For example, Lord Wimborne inherited from his father 350 acres of heath land worth £120,000. Planning permission was obtained and he sold the land to Poole Borough Council seven years later for £7½ million.
The effect on house prices is startling. Let me give the House some sensational figures. The cost of land adds £5 a week to the average rent of a new dwelling in 247 Britain—before a single brick is laid. In outer London, it adds £7 a week and in inner London no less than £18 a week. These figures are for 1976 and are the latest available. They were given to me by the London Boroughs Association after a survey that it had carried out.
There is a Socialist maxim which should be the guiding principle for anyone who believes in fair play. Where the value of land increases not through the efforts of the owner but through the efforts and needs of the community, that increase in value should go back to the community which created it. Labour holds that the way to achieve this is through public ownership of all development land except that of owner-occupiers. This was the first aim of our community land proposals. The second was to ensure that land was used to meet the living needs of the people and not just the profits of property speculators.
It was the racket in land prices and the unearned gains of the speculators which made this a popular pledge in our 1974 election programmes. Land prices trebled between 1970 and 1973. Conservative Members may say that the land price bonanza could never return. Unfortunately, that is not so. Prices are rising again and fast.
§ Several HON. MEMBERS rose—
§ Mr. AllaunI did not interrupt the hon. Member for Eastbourne and I hope that his hon. Friends will have the courtesy not to interrupt me.
In The Sunday Times on 12th February, under the headline "Land prices top £80,000 for an acre", there was a report which read:
Land prices are reaching levels not seen since the days of the property boom, and look sure to soar to new heights.Gough Cooper recently tendered for a site at Loughton, Essex. It bid £80,000 an acre, almost double the price it would have fetched a year ago, but it went for £86,000 an acre.Laurie Barratt, Chairman of Barratt Developments, agreees that prices have gone above £80,000 in the most popular areas of the South East.Allowing for 10 houses to the acre, that means that land alone adds £8,000 to the cost of each house.Although Winston Churchill once bitterly attacked land profits, the Conservative Party is the landowners' party. 248 Many Conservative leaders are great land owners, and I am not referring solely to the House of Lords.
In 1954, Mr. Horace Cutler, the present Conservative leader of the Greater London Council, bought some farmland in Hampshire for £12,500. The local council has since given planning permission and Mr. Cutler has turned his investment into £2 million. There are other speculators, too. No wonder there is such strong pressure in certain quarters against the Act and the tax.
The British Property Federation and its spokesmen, the Conservative Party chiefs, are exerting great pre-Budget pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I always sleep with the Estate Times under my pillow. It recently devoted its front page to outlining their demands. There have already been far too many exemptions from the tax and there must he no further gifts to the landowners in the spring. On the contrary, the gaping loopholes must be closed.
The main argument of the hon. Member for Eastbourne was that the supply of land is drying up. If that is so, it is because landed property owners are deliberately withholding land in the hope of squeezing the public more tightly and getting even more exorbitant profits, should the Conservative Party win power and remove the Act and cut the tax, as it says it will.
However, even the hon. Member for Melton (Mr. Latham) in a recent article has had to admit that the land authority for Wales set up under the Act, and whose chairman is Baroness White, a former Labour MP, is doing well. He wrote.
There is a reasonable success story. The Land Authority for Wales seems to be doing quite well so far.Finally, I come to my criticism of the Act, which I hold as fiercely as Conservatives hold theirs, though for diametrically opposed reasons. They want to see the Act repealed. I want to see it properly applied. The Act has not been implemented as we intended because concession after concession has been made to the landowners. That is why the Act has not brought the benefits that it could, and should, have brought.That is also why Labour men are pressing the Government to implement our scheme fully. As some of us on the 249 Labour Party land working party warned against before the Act was published, land in builders' stocks and land on which planning permission has been obtained is exempt from the Act and the tax. Yet these two categories comprise nearly all the most suitable land needed in the next three years.
There are other exemptions too numerous to mention here today, such as allowing a man and his wife to make £20,000 a year in development value without paying any development land tax at all, or excluding land on which up to 10 houses may be built.
Next, consider the current use value of land such as dockland that has been disused for 10 years or more. What is its value? Nil, we said, or at the most, agriculture use value. However, district valuers are classifying it as industrial land and valuing it at anything up to £20,000 an acre.
We have the public expenditure cuts so beloved by Tory Members. Such cuts have drastically reduced the amount that local authorities are allowed to spend on land purchase. Lastly—doubtless to reinforce
§ the public expenditure cuts—came the guidelines stating that all land bought by councils must be resold within two years, and all industrial land within three years.
§ It is not that public ownership has failed, as Tory Members are saying. On the contrary, it has not yet been fully applied. That is what I am urging. Let us not repeal the Act, let us implement it as intended. I suggest that Liberal Members remember Lloyd George's "Land for the people" aims and vote accordingly.
§ This is the issue of landed property versus the people. Conservative Members are on the property side and Labour Members are on the side of the people. We do not pretend to be neutral. We support the millions of victims. I ask all non-Tory Members to throw out this reactionary Bill.
§ Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 13 (Motions for leave to bring in Bills and Nomination of Select Committees at Commencement of Public Business):—
§ The House divided: Ayes, 177, Noes 189
253| Division No. 127 | AYES | 4.01 p.m. |
| Adley, Robert | Eyre, Reginald | Johnson Smith, G. (E Grinstead) |
| Atkins, Rt Hon H. (Spelthorne) | Farr, John | Johnston, Russell (Inverness) |
| Atkinson, David (Bournemouth, East) | Fell, Anthony | Jopling, Michael |
| Awdry, Danie | Finsberg, Geoffrey | Kershaw, Anthony |
| Banks, Robert | Fletcher, Alex (Edinburgh N) | King, Tom (Bridgwater) |
| Bell, Ronald | Fletcher-Cooke, Charles | Kitson, Sir Timothy |
| Bennett, Sir Frederic (Torbay) | Forman, Nigel | Knight, Mrs Jill |
| Berry, Hon Anthony | Fowler, Norman (Sutton C'f'd) | Knox, David |
| Biggs-Davison, John | Freud, Clement | Lamont, Norman |
| Blaker, Peter | Fry, Peter | Langford-Holt, Sir John |
| Bottomley, Peter | Gilmour, Rt Hon Ian (Chesham) | Latham, Michael (Melton) |
| Bowden, A. (Brighton, Kemptown) | Gilmour, Sir John (East Fife) | Lawrence, Ivan |
| Boyson, Dr Rhodes (Brent) | Goodhew, Victor | Lawson, Nigel |
| Braine, Sir Bernard | Goodlad, Alastair | Lester, Jim (Beeston) |
| Brittan, Leon | Grant, Anthony (Harrow C) | Lewis, Kenneth (Rutland) |
| Brooke, Peter | Gray, Hamish | Lloyd, lan |
| Brotherton, Michael | Grieve, Percy | Luce, Richard |
| Brown, Sir Edward (Bath) | Griffiths, Eldon | Macfarlane, Neil |
| Bryan, Sir Paul | Grimond, Rt Hon J. | MacGregor, John |
| Buchanan-Smith, Alick | Grist, Ian | MacKay, Andrew (Stechford) |
| Buck, Antony | Hall-Davis, A. G. F. | Macmillan, Rt Hon M. (Farnham) |
| Bulmer, Esmond | Hamilton, Michael (Salisbury) | Marshall, Michael (Arundel) |
| Butler, Adam (Bosworth) | Hannam, John | Marten, Neil |
| Chalker, Mrs Lynda | Haselhurst, Alan | Mates, Michael |
| Channon, Paul | Havers, Rt Hon Sir Michael | Mather, Carol |
| Clark, William (Croydon S) | Hayhoe, Barney | Maudling, Rt Hon Reginald |
| Cockcroft, John | Heath, Rt Hon Edward | Mawby, Ray |
| Cooke, Robert (Bristol W) | Hicks, Robert | Maxwell-Hyslop, Robin |
| Cope, John | Hodgson, Robin | Mayhew, Patrick |
| Corrie, John | Holland, Philip | Miller, Hal (Bromsgrove) |
| Costain, A. P. | Hooson, Emlyn | Mills, Peter |
| Crouch, David | Howell, David (Guildford) | Mitchell, David (Basingstoke) |
| Davies, Rt Hon J. (Knutsford) | Howell, Ralph (North Norfolk) | Molyneaux, James |
| Dean, Paul (N Somerset) | Howells, Geraint (Cardigan) | Montgomery, Fergus |
| Douglas-Hamilton, Lord James | Hunt, John (Ravensbourne) | More, Jasper (Ludlow) |
| Durant, Tony | Hutchison, Michael Clark | Morris, Michael (Northampton S) |
| Dykes, Hugh | Irving, Charles (Cheltenham) | Morrison, Charles (Devizes) |
| Eden, Rt Hon Sir John | James, David | Morrison, Hon Peter (Chester) |
| Edwards, Nicholas (Pembroke) | Jenkin, Rt Hon P. (Wanst'd&W df'd) | Neubert, Michael |
| Elliott, Sir William | Jessel, Toby | Newton, Tony |
| Oppenheim, Mrs Sally | Royle, Sir Anthony | Temple-Morris, Peter |
| Page, John (Harrow West) | Shaw, Giles (Pudsey) | Thatcher, Rt Hon Margaret |
| Page, Rt Hon R. Graham (Crosby) | Shelton, William (Streatham) | Trotter, Neville |
| Page, Richard (Workington) | Shepherd, Colin | van Straubenzee, W. R. |
| Pardoe, John | Silvester, Fred | Vaughan, Dr Gerard |
| Pattie, Geoffrey | Sims, Roger | Viggers, Peter |
| Peyton, Rt Hon John | Sinclair, Sir George | Wakeham, John |
| Pink, R. Bonner | Smith, Cyril (Rochdale) | Walters, Dennis |
| Powell, Rt Hon J. Enoch | Smith, Dudley (Warwick) | Warren, Kenneth |
| Price, David (Eastleigh) | Smith, Timothy John (Ashfield) | Weatherill, Bernard |
| Pym, Rt Hon Francis | Speed, Keith | Wells, John |
| Raison, Timothy | Spence, John | Whitelaw, Rt Hon William |
| Renton, Rt Hon Sir D. (Hunts) | Stainton, Keith | Wiggin, Jerry |
| Rhodes James, R. | Stanley, John | Winterton, Nicholas |
| Rhys Williams, Sir Brandon | Steel, Rt Hon David | Young, Sir G. (Ealing, Acton) |
| Rifkind, Malcolm | Steen, Anthony (Wavertree) | Younger, Hon George |
| Roberts, Michael (Cardiff NW) | Stradling Thomas, J. | |
| Roberts, Wyn (Conway) | Tapsell, Peter | TELLERS FOR THE AYES: |
| Ross, Stephen (Isle of Wight) | Taylor, Teddy (Cathcart) | Mr. Nicholas Ridley and |
| Rossi, Hugh (Hornsey) | Tebbit, Norman | Mr. Ian Gow. |
| Rost, Peter (SE Derbyshire) | ||
| NOES | ||
| Abse, Leo | Grant, George (Morpeth) | Newens, Stanley |
| Allaun, Frank | Grant, John (Islington C) | Noble, Mike |
| Archer, Rt Hon Peter | Grocott, Bruce | Oakes, Gordon |
| Armstrong, Ernest | Hamilton, James (Bothwell) | O'Halloran, Michael |
| Atkins, Ronald (Preston N) | Hardy, Peter | Owen, Rt Hon Dr David |
| Barnett, Guy (Greenwich) | Harper, Joseph | Palmer, Arthur |
| Barnett, Rt Hon Joel (Heywood) | Harrison, Rt Hon Walter | Park, George |
| Bates, Alt | Hart, Rt Hon Judith | Parry, Robert |
| Bidwell, Sydney | Hattersley, Rt Hon Roy | Pavitt, Laurie |
| Bishop, Rt Hon Edward | Heffer, Eric S. | Price, William (Rugby) |
| Blenkinsop, Arthur | Hooley, Frank | Rees, Rt Hon Merlyn (Leeds S) |
| Boothroyd, Miss Betty | Hoyle, Doug (Nelson) | Richardson, Miss Jo |
| Bottomley, Rt Hon Arthur | Huckfield, Les | Roberts, Albert (Normanton) |
| Boyden, James (Bish Auck) | Hughes, Rt Hon C. (Anglesey) | Roberts, Gwilym (Cannock) |
| Brown, Hugh D. (Provan) | Hughes, Robert (Aberdeen N) | Roderick, Caerwyn |
| Buchan, Norman | Hughes, Roy (Newport) | Rodgers, George (Chorley) |
| Buchanan, Richard | Hunter, Adam | Rooker, J. W. |
| Callaghan, Jim (Middlelon & P) | Jackson, Miss Margaret (Lincoln) | Roper, John |
| Campbell, Ian | Jay, Rt Hon Douglas | Rose, Paul B. |
| Canavan, Dennis | Jenkins, Hugh (Putney) | Ross, Rt Hon W. (Kilmarnock) |
| Carmichael, Neil | John, Brynmor | Rowlands, Ted |
| Cartwright, John | Johnson, James (Hull West) | Ryman, John |
| Clemltson, lvor | Jones, Alec (Rhondda) | Sedgemore, Brian |
| Cocks, Rt Hon Michael (Bristol S) | Jones, Barry (East Flint) | Sheldon, Rt Hon Robert |
| Coleman, Donald | Jones, Dan (Burnley) | Shore, Rt Hon Peter |
| Conlan, Bernard | Judd, Frank | Silkin, Rt Hon John (Deptford) |
| Cook, Robin F. (Edin C) | Kaufman, Gerald | Silkin, Rt Hon S. C. (Dulwich) |
| Cowans, Harry | Kerr, Russell | Skinner, Dennis |
| Craigen, Jim (Maryhill) | Kilroy-Silk, Robert | Smith, John (N Lanarkshire) |
| Crawshaw, Richard | Lamborn, Harry | Snape, Peter |
| Cryer, Bob | Lamond, James | Spearing, Nigel |
| Cunningham, G. (Islington S) | Lewis, Arthur (Newham N) | Spiggs, Leslie |
| Davies, Denzil (Llanelli) | Lewis, Ron (Carlisle) | Stewart, Rt Hon M. (Fulham) |
| Davies, Ifor (Gower) | Litterick, Tom | Stoddart, David |
| Davis, Clinton (Hackney C) | Luard, Evan | Stott, Roger |
| Deakins, Eric | Lyon, Alexander (York) | Strang, Gavin |
| Dean, Joseph (Leeds West) | McCartney, Hugh | Strauss, Rt Hon G. R. |
| Dempsey, James | McDonald, Dr Oonagh | Summerskill, Hon Dr Shirley |
| Doig, Peter | McGuire, Michael (Ince) | Taylor, Mrs Ann (Bolton W) |
| Dormand, J. D. | MacKenzie, Rt Hon Gregor | Thomas, Jeffrey (Abertillery) |
| Dunwoody, Mrs Gwyneth | Maclennan, Robert | Thomas, Mike (Newcastle E) |
| Eadie, Alex | McMillan, Tom (Glasgow C) | Thomas, Ron (Bristol NW) |
| Edwards, Robert (Wolv SE) | McNamara, Kevin | Thorne, Stan (Preston South) |
| Ellis, John (Brigg & Scun) | Madden, Max | Tlnn, James |
| English, Michael | Magee, Bryan | Tomlinson, John |
| Evans, Fred (Caerphllly) | Marks, Kenneth | Torney, Tom |
| Evans, Gwynfor (Carmarthen) | Marshall, Dr Edmund (Goole) | Tuck, Raphael |
| Evans, loan (Aberdare) | Marshall, Jim (Leicester S) | Urwin, T. W. |
| Ewing, Harry (Stirling) | Maynard, Miss Joan | Varlsy. Rt Hon Eric G. |
| Fernyhough, Rt Hon E. | Mendelson, John | Wainwright, Edwin (Dearne V) |
| Flannery, Martin | Millan, Rt Hon Bruce | Walker, Harold (Doncaster) |
| Fletcher, Ted (Darlington) | Miller, Dr M. S. (E Kilbrlde) | Walker, Terry (Kingswood) |
| Foot, Rt Hon Michael | Mitchell, Austin | Ward, Michael |
| Forrester, John | Mitchell, R. C. (Soton, Itchen) | Watkins, David |
| Fowler, Gerald (The Wrekin) | Molloy, William | White, Frank R. (Bury) |
| Fraser, John (Lambeth, N'w'd) | Moonman, Eric | White, James (Pollok) |
| George, Bruce | Morris, Alfred (Wythenshawe) | Whitlock, William |
| Gilbert, Dr John | Morris, Charles R. (Openshaw) | Wigley, Dafydd |
| Golding, John | Morris, Rt Hon J. (Aberavon) | Willey, Rt Hon Frederick |
| Gould, Bryan | Mulley, Rt Hon Frederick | Williams, Rt Hon Alan (Swansea W) |
| Graham, Ted | Murray, Rt Hon Ronald King | Williams, Rt Hon Shirley (Hertford) |
| Wilson, Alexander (Hamilton) | Young, David (Bolton E) |
| Wilson, William (Coventry SE) | |
| Woodall, Alec | TELLERS FOR THE NOES: |
| Woof, Robert | Mr. Andrew F. Bennett and |
| Wrigglesworth, Ian | Mr. David Lambie. |
| Question accordingly negatived. |