§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the formula employed by the Crown Estate Commissioners to calculate the payments due to them in respect of pipelines and associated works on the seabed at Dounreay, Sellafield and Hunterston nuclear establishments.
§ Mr. LawsonThe Crown Estate Commissioners use the district valuer to assess the value of their foreshore and seabed dealings. In assessing these values the district valuer acts on the basis of instructions from the valuation office to the effect that the price or rent should be the best which is obtainable in the open market and estimates should therefore be capable of justification on normal considerations of supply and demand, including the demand of the particular purchaser or lessee. The objective is to get the best price or rent obtainable having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In the case of the disposal of rights or interests in the foreshore or seabed, the commissioners often hold the monopoly. They do not, however, wish any element of monopoly value to be included. In such cases, therefore, the district valuer assumes, for the purpose of making his valuation, that there is a measure of competition and that, if the negotiations with the commissioners break down, equally suitable facilities could be obtained from other landowners on payment of a consideration which is reasonable in the circumstances of the case.