§ Mr. Gallacherasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the yield of a penny rate in each of the Crofter Counties in Orkney, Shetland, Lanarkshire, and Midlothian, now; and when the Local Government Bill comes into force.
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§ Mr. WoodburnA rate of one penny in the £ in the counties referred to is estimated to yield the following amounts in the year ending 15th May, 1948.
County. Landward Area only. County inclusive of small burghs. £ £ Argyll 860 1,888 Caithness 143 *391 Inverness 1,120 1,263 Ross and Cromarty 533 967 Sutherland *202 *226 Orkney 126 277 Zetland 67 234 Lanark 8,820 9,100 Midlothian 1,549 2,782 * 1946/47 estimate based on the effective Rateable Value for the year. I regret that figures showing the effect on these estimates of the derating of electricity and transport undertakings proposed under the Local Government Bill are not available. As the Bill proposes that a sum in lieu of the rates lost should be distributed among local authorities in proportion to their rateable value and treated as rates for the purpose of computing the product of a penny rate, it is unlikely that the product of a penny rate for Scotland as a whole would be effected. There would, however, be a slight increase or decrease in the yield in individual areas.