§ Mr. Neil Thorneasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether any progress has been made on facilitating the payment of compound interest on claims under the Land Compensation Acts;
(2) what representations he has received in the last three years regarding the payment and taxation of interest on claims under the Land Compensation Acts; when these representations were received; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TraceyA consultation paper on interest on land compensation was issued on 16 March 1984. The paper proposed that simple interest should continue to be payable on land compensation, but that part payments should be made at regular intervals prior to the settlement of a claim on an estimated basis. Including direct responses to this consultation paper, in the last three years the Department has received correspondence from 43 bodies and individuals, a few of whom have written on more than one occasion. Most accepted the proposals in the consultation paper, although some have said that they prefer the payment of compound interest as an alternative. I am not at present in a position to say when any legislation might be introduced on this subject.