§ Sir H. CAUTLEYasked the Minister tit' Agriculture (1) the scale of costs applicable to a compulsory redemption of tithe and give the statutory powers under which it is enforced;
(2) how many compulsory redemptions of tithe have been completed under the last Act; and what are the respective amounts of costs charged for such redemptions where the redemption money amounts to approximately £5,,£1 10s., £10 and £15respectively?
Mr. GUINNESSI am sending my hon. and learned Friend a copy of the scale of fees at present in force as regards cases of compulsory redemption of tithe rentcharge in which the order of redemption is issued on or after the 16th November, 1926. The fees are chargeable under Section 6 of the In-closure, etc., Expenses Act, 1868. These redemptions proceed under certain of the provisions of the Tithe Acts, 1860 and 1878, as the Tithe Act, 1925, merely extended the provisions of the Tithe Act, 1878, in a minor degree.
2587WInformation as to the number of cases of compulsory redemption completed since the year 1860 is not readily available, but it may be stated that from the 1st January, 1892, until the 31st December, 1925, a period of 34 years, 4,972 cases were completed. As will be seen from the scale, the fees depend on the amount of rentcharge to be redeemed and the number of landowners concerned. Moreover, having regard to the provisions of the Tithe Act, 1918, as to the determination of the consideration money in these cases, the redemption money does not bear a fixed relation to the amount of the tithe rentcharge, inasmuch as rates have to be taken into consideration in the calculation, and the liability of titheowners to rates depends on the particular class of titheowner concerned, e.g., whether incumbent, ecclesiastical corporation, or layman. It is not therefore possible to state what the fees would be in relation to particular amounts of redemption money.