§ Mr. Muddasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the effects of the effects of the abolition of the Land Commission and the betterment levy.
§ Mr. Graham PageThe abolition of the betterment levy relieved landowners of the anxiety as to the unknown liability resulting from making land available for disposal or development. The 3,000 acres of land acquired by the commission and now disposed of—except for a small quantity—is insignificant against the 30,000 acres made available for housing by the release of land held by the Government Departments and nationalised industries during the last two and a half212W with numerous organisations including those which have an interest in matters relating to specification of materials and workmanship, and authorities having particular requirements for specific projects. Bodies—other than the Department's own advisory committees—concerned with matters affecting pure design, commonly consulted include:
years and against the extra £80 million made available by the Government for borrowing to enable local authorities to make land available for housing. It is not possible, without undue expense, to quantify the results of the abolition of the betterment levy and the effect of the normal taxation system on transactions in land with development value. Staff savings resulting from the abolition of the commission number about 1,000.