HC Deb 04 May 1925 vol 183 cc610-1W
Mr. WHITELEY

asked the Minister of Health how many local authorities in England and Wales have power under special Acts of Parliament to buy land in advance of their immediate needs; the names of the local authorities that have such powers and in respect of each the area of land so purchased; the price paid; and the net rateable value of the land previous to purchase?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

Thirty local authorities have this power. The following are the cases in which loans have been sanctioned by my Department; I have no information of the rateable value of the lands before purchase:

Name of Local Authority. Area (Approx.) Price.
£
Liverpool 642 acres 721,245
Birmingham 112 acres 467,167
Nottingham 972 acres 220,800
Portsmouth 564 acres 47,000
Nelson 224 acres 26,639
Bolton 375 acres 15,280
Leeds 10 acres 11,000
Northampton 2,070 sq. yards 10,350
Preston 480 acres 10,000
Swansea 3 acres 6,650
Croydon 1,171 sq. yards 1,700
Chesterfield 2 acres 1,650
Plymouth 1 1/12 acres 1,582

The following local authorities also have this power, but no loans have yet been sanctioned for the purpose: The county boroughs of Barnsley, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Coventry, Grimsby, Hastings, Kingston - upon - Hull, Manchester, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield; and the Town Councils of Chatham, Harrogate, Haslingdon, Lytham St. Annes, Morecambe and Ramsgate.

Local Authorities in England and Wales
Year. Total expenditure other than out of loans. Receipts during the year from which the expenditure would be met. Average amount of rates (Col. 3) per head of population. Net outstanding loan debt at the end of the year.
Rates. Exchequer Grants. Other Sources.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
£ £ £ £ £ s. d. £
1913–14 148,259,788 71,276,158 22,617,246 55,454,595 1 18 11 526,928,217
1922–23 346,707,800 157,273,530 75,843,058 128,000,669 4 2 5 741,465,263
1923–24 Not yet available. 144,000,000 Not yet available. Not yet available. 3 14 10 Not yet available.
1924–25 Not yet available. 142,000,000 Not yet available. Not yet available. 3 13 11 Not yet available.
The amount per pound of assessable value of the rates levied in the following areas in 1924-25 exceeded 20s. in the £—the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar, the County Boroughs of East Ham, West Ham and Merthyr Tydfil, the Boroughs of Sudbury, Thornaby-on-Tees and Neath, and the Urban Districts of Leyton, Walthamstow, Aberdare, Gelligaer, Glyncorwg, Maesteg, Mountain Ash, Ogmore and Garw and Pontypridd