§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government by how much it would be necessary to increase the sums provided in the General Grant (Increase) Orders now before Parliament in order to prevent any general increase in rate poundage in the financial year 1966–67.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe position is too complex to permit of a worth while estimate. Apart from the fact that I do not know how much local authorities will budget to raise next year either collectively or individually, the answer would depend very much on how the additional grant was assumed to be distributed and on how far it was desired to go in keeping rates down. Changes in rate poundage are always far from uniform, ranging from small decreases to increases of 30 per cent. or more; it would not be possible to tailor the distribution of grant to the prospective pattern of rate increases and in any case general grant is not payable to most rating authorities.
At a guess—and I can really offer little more—I would put the increase in grant needed at between roughly £100 million and £300 million, depending on the assumptions made.