§ 6. Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the progress of his departmental review of the staffing of the Development Land Tax office.
§ The Minister of State, Treasury (Mr. Denzil Davies)The Inland Revenue's present review of development land tax, which covers administration and financial procedures, is still in its early stages and I cannot usefully add to what I said in reply to the hon. Member's Question on 11th December.
§ Mr. LathamIs there not a scandalous bureaucratic situation here in that, when 1936 a secret Inland Revenue inquiry made a recommendation that the staff should be cut by 30, the Government's response was to increase it by 20 and set up another inquiry?
§ Mr. DaviesNo. That inquiry was conducted on the basis of the work of the office between May and June 1977. By October 1978, the number of working cases had doubled. It was therefore necessary to increase the staff in order that people who dealt with that office should, in turn, be dealt with in a proper and efficient manner.