§ Mr. WHITELEYasked the Minister of Health how many local authorities in England and Wales have power under special Acts of Parliament to buy land in advance of their immediate needs; the names of the local authorities that have such powers and in respect of each the area of land so purchased; the price 611W paid; and the net rateable value of the land previous to purchase?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThirty local authorities have this power. The following are the cases in which loans have been sanctioned by my Department; I have no information of the rateable value of the lands before purchase:
Name of Local Authority. Area (Approx.) Price. £ Liverpool … 642 acres 721,245 Birmingham … 112 acres 467,167 Nottingham … 972 acres 220,800 Portsmouth … 564 acres 47,000 Nelson … 224 acres 26,639 Bolton … 375 acres 15,280 Leeds … 10 acres 11,000 Northampton … 2,070 sq. yards 10,350 Preston … 480 acres 10,000 Swansea … 3 acres 6,650 Croydon … 1,171 sq. yards 1,700 Chesterfield … 2 acres 1,650 Plymouth … 1 1/12 acres 1,582 The following local authorities also have this power, but no loans have yet been sanctioned for the purpose: The county boroughs of Barnsley, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Coventry, Grimsby, Hastings, Kingston - upon - Hull, Manchester, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield; and the Town Councils of Chatham, Harrogate, Haslingdon, Lytham St. Annes, Morecambe and Ramsgate.
Local Authorities in England and Wales Year. Total expenditure other than out of loans. Receipts during the year from which the expenditure would be met. Average amount of rates (Col. 3) per head of population. Net outstanding loan debt at the end of the year. Rates. Exchequer Grants. Other Sources. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. £ £ £ £ £ s. d. £ 1913–14 … 148,259,788 71,276,158 22,617,246 55,454,595 1 18 11 526,928,217 1922–23 … 346,707,800 157,273,530 75,843,058 128,000,669 4 2 5 741,465,263 1923–24 … Not yet available. 144,000,000 Not yet available. Not yet available. 3 14 10 Not yet available. 1924–25 … Not yet available. 142,000,000 Not yet available. Not yet available. 3 13 11 Not yet available. The amount per pound of assessable value of the rates levied in the following areas in 1924-25 exceeded 20s. in the £—the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar, the County Boroughs of East Ham, West Ham and Merthyr Tydfil, the Boroughs of Sudbury, Thornaby-on-Tees and Neath, and the Urban Districts of Leyton, Walthamstow, Aberdare, Gelligaer, Glyncorwg, Maesteg, Mountain Ash, Ogmore and Garw and Pontypridd