§ Mr. EVERARDasked the Minister of Agriculture the number of acres of small holdings in England and Wales which are owned by county councils, including both pre-War and post-War holdings; the net rent receivable; and the total annual cost of administration and repairs for the years 1923 and 1924, respectively?
Mr. GUINNESSThe total acreage of small holdings owned by county councils and councils of county boroughs in England and Wales on the 31st December, 1924, was 356,889 acres, while an additional 84,400 acres were held on lease. The gross rental of the whole was £973,648, but I am unable to state separately the rental of the land owned. The outgoings other than repairs and administration charges, but including the rents paid by councils for lands leased by them, amounted in the year ending 31st March, 1924, to approximately £196,000. The total cost of administration and repairs in that year was £275,000 and in the following year £284,000, but these amounts include expenditure on repairs held over from the War years and other items in excess of normal maintenance.
§ Mr. RILEYasked the Minister of Agriculture the total area of land acquired by county councils in England and Wales for small holdings since 1918; the total cost of such land; the number of separate holdings provided; and the average rent of the holdings per acre?
Mr. GUINNESSThe total area of land acquired and retained for the purpose of small holdings since 1918 by the councils of counties and county boroughs in England and Wales is 255,784 acres, including about 1,800 acres which have been sold to the tenants. The total cost of the land purchased for cash amounts to £9,584,600, but about 40,000 acres included in the above area have been either taken on lease or purchased in consideration of annuities or rentcharges. The cost of adaptation and equipment amounts to about £5,600,000, some of which has been 2133W expended on the council's pre-war estates in order to equip holdings for ex-service men. The number of men at present occupying holdings into which they have entered since 1918 is 18,685, of whom, however, 2,475 have been settled on land acquired before the War. It is impossible to state the average rent per acre of the land apart from houses and buildings, but the gross rental of the 253,982 acres let by councils, including equipment, is approximately £580,000.