§ Mr. Murtonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will set out in tabular form the total number at the latest convenient date of 143W direct ratepayers in England and Wales, showing domestic ratepayers, commercial ratepayers, industrial ratepayers, docks and public utilities, entertainment, education and culture, and miscellaneous direct ratepayers, and the total number of indirect ratepayers, and showing how many are local authority tenants and how many in privately rented accommodation.
§ Mr. MacCollThe following table shows for England and Wales the number of hereditaments in each class at 1st April, 1966.
Class No. of hereditaments Domestic … 15,112,125 Commercial … 2,351,551 Industrial … 102,656 Docks and public utilities … 22,466 Entertainment … 66,904 Education and culture … 38,728 Miscellaneous … 278,462* 17,972,892 *Including 50,465 in Crown occupation on which payments in lieu of rates are made. My right hon. Friend has no statistics which distinguish indirect ratepayers, but he thinks it may be assumed that almost all non-domestic occupiers pay rates direct. Among domestic occupiers he would estimate that about 4 million council and new town tenants and about 2½ million private tenants pay rates indirectly.