§ Captain Kerbyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will extract and publish as a short White Paper any proposals or suggestions for relieving the rates burden on the general public included in the 400 pages of Command Paper No. 2582.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe report contains no such proposals. In the first paragraph of their report, after quoting the terms of reference given to them by the last Government, the Committee say: "These terms of reference do not require us to pass judgment on the rating system or to make recommendations. Because our task has been to ascertain facts, our report is confined to facts, most of them expressed in figures. We have aimed to present a comprehensive and balanced account of the impact of rates on householders and to provide the essential statistical material for any review of the rating system".
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) on what date and in what form the committee responsible for producing Command Report No. 2582 invited the Shoreham by Sea Beach Residents' Association to submit written evidence to them; and if he will publish the evidence submitted by that association to the committee;
(2) on what date and in what form the committee responsible for producing Command Report No. 2582 invited the Angmering-on-Sea Residents' Association to submit written evidence to them; and if he will publish the evidence submitted by that association to the committee.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe Committee gave notice in the Press in July, 1963, that they were prepared to receive evidence from the public or from any organisation. They did not specify the form which it should take. Nor did they issue a separate invitation to either of the Residents' Associations. I do not propose to publish any of the voluminous evidence received by the Committee.