§ 2.43 p.m.
§ LORD BROUGHSHANEMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated amount of the claims upon the £300,000,000 compensation fund under the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947, already received; whether it is estimated that this fund will be liable for the settlement of any further claims, and the dates when any such claims must be submitted; and whether the Govern 224 ment consider that the fund will be adequate to meet the probable claims upon it.]
§ LORD AMMONMy Lords, the last date for lodging claims is June 30, 1949, and only 54,005 claims have been received to date. Claimants are not required to estimate the amounts of their claims, and assessment of claims by the Central Land Board will not be generally undertaken until the claims are all in. No reasonable estimate of the amount of claims received up to the present time can therefore be made at present. All claims received up to June 30, 1949, will be eligible for consideration. The sum of £300,000,000 was fixed by Parliament as the appropriate sum out of which payments are to be made to owners of interests in land which are depreciated in value by virtue of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947. The scheme which will govern the distribution may, under Section 58 of the Act, have regard to other factors besides the amount of claims. The scheme will be subject to the approval of both Houses of Parliament.
§ LORD BROUGHSHANEMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that, owing to the many categories of claims placed on the fund by the Government, this sum of £300,000,000 is quite inadequate and will provide less than two shillings in the pound for any individual claim? Will the Government give an assurance that any deficiency over and above the sum of £300,000,000 found to be due to individuals will be met by the Government by additional grants, so that all approved claims may be paid in full?
§ LORD AMMONMy Lords, the sum of £300,000,000 was never intended as the estimated aggregate of the amounts claimed by landowners. Such a figure, being based on separate valuations of each parcel of land, would be heavily inflated by the factor of floating value. Nor does the sum purport to be a global sum; that is to say, an estimate of the real development value of all land in Britain with floating value eliminated. It is the sum which the Government consider can safely be added to the financial burdens of the State, and is at the same time sufficient to meet all reasonable claims on a hardship basis, having regard to such information as is available as to the types of case likely to arise, and also 225 to the fact that a good deal of land with development value is excluded from payments—for example, dead ripe land, certain land held by local authorities, operational land held by statutory undertakers, land used for charitable purposes, land of the National Coal Board, Government Departments and the Commissioners of Crown Lands.
§ LORD BROUGHSHANEMy Lords, are we to understand that all approved claims which are found to be correct will be paid in full, irrespective of whether the sum of £300,000,000 is available or not?
§ LORD AMMONI suggest that the noble Lord studies my answer.
§ LORD BROUGHSHANEI have studied it.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONMy Lords, whilst congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Ammon, on his highly intelligent anticipation of the first supplementary question, may I put this simpler supplementary question? He said in his supplementary answer that the Government would pay all claims of hardship. Is it not a fact that when the Bill was going through this House we were informed that the object and intention of the Government was to pay all genuine claims; that is to say, to give fair value for what was being taken away? Are the Government going to operate in accordance with the pledges given to this House—and, indeed, the terms of the Act—or upon some new principle which the noble Lord has now introduced in his supplementary answer?
§ LORD AMMONI think the noble Viscount misunderstood me. What I said was that the £300,000,000 was the sum which the Government consider can safely be added to the financial burdens of the State, and is at the same time sufficient to meet all reasonable claims on a hardship basis. It is not quite the same as the noble Viscount put it. With regard to the rest of the question, I have no knowledge that there is to be any variation from the statements already made.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONWith great respect, the noble Lord has repeated the two qualifications which he made of the real values of what has been taken over. The first qualification made was as to how much the financial situation can afford; 226 and the second was: is there or is there not hardship?—whatever "hardship" means. May I ask the noble Viscount the Leader of the House whether he does not agree that neither the financial situation nor the element of hardship was before this House when the Bill was going through?
§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (VISCOUNT ADDISON)I am afraid I cannot call to mind the express terms of the Act. I am sure the noble Viscount is more familiar with it than I am. All I can say is that. I will draw my noble friend's attention to the very emphatic statement which the noble Viscount has made.