§ Mr. LAMBERTasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the amount of grants paid to the county of Devon for education, Poor Law relief, highways, lunacy, police, housing, small holdings, and other purposes for the latest available year; and how those payments will compare with the estimated grants for the current financial year?
§ Mr. GREENWOODIt is not practicable as a rule to state the amount of 2387W Government grants paid in respect of a county, since the areas of some authorities to whom the grants were paid extend beyond the boundaries of the county. The losses on account of the grants which have been discontinued under the Local Government Act, 1929, paid in respect of the standard year (1928–29) have been apportioned to individual counties in accordance with the Act and Regulations made thereunder, and the total amount for the county of Devon is £395,205. The new grant under the Act of 1929, payable, to local authorities in the county of Devon is £691,530. These figures are necessarily provisional and subject to revision. The new grant is a consolidated grant, of which the part attributable to compensation for loss of grants is not distinguishable from the remainder. Certain grants formerly payable out of the Local Taxation Account and not included in the loss on account of grants will in future be paid by the appropriate Government Departments. The grants which are not discontinued under the Act of 1929 will be payable on the game basis as heretofore.