§ 55. Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has given his sanction under Section 161(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 for the Greater London Council to make a payment of compensation to the complainant in Local Ombudsman Case No. 99215; and whether on assessing the amount of compensation he 613W is prepared to sanction under that section, he will apply the same rate of interest in respect of an unlawful delay in making a home loss payment contrary to the statutory duty in Section 32(2) of the Land Compensation Act 1973 as is prescribed under Sections 18(1), 36(6) and 37(6) of the Act in the case of a lawful delay.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettMy right hon. Friend has received no application from the Greater London Council for sanction under Section 161(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 in this case. The amount of any ex gratia payment which the council may wish to make is in the first instance a matter for its decision. However, in the event of an application being received my right hon. Friend will bear in mind the point which my hon. Friend has made concerning the payment of interest.