§ Captain W. BENNasked the Minister of Health whether he can give the aggregate net rateable value attributable to the 777 acres in the county of London purchased for housing purposes, and the similar value of the 2,646 acres purchased in the Metropolitan Police district?
§ Dr. ADDISONIt would entail a large amount of work to collect the information desired and I do not think that I would be warranted, in the present pressure of work, in obtaining it. I can assure the hon. and gallant Member that the Valuation Department of the Inland Revenue, which advises the Ministry as to the value of land proposed to be purchased for housing purposes, take all relevant factors into consideration. As he will understand, in the case of land in the neighbourhood of big towns which is used for agricultural purposes but has a much higher building value, rateable value is not an adequate criterion of what has to be paid for it.