§ Mr. Maxwell-Hyslopasked the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tiverton on Monday 8 November, Official Report, c. 78, concerning the A30, in each of the eight cases specified why more than six years has been allowed to elapse between payment and his Department taking the land; in each case, when he anticipates that full payment will have been made; why 90 per cent. estimated compensation due 269W has not been paid in two cases; and whether he is satisfied that no element of maladministration has contributed to the delay.
§ Mrs. ChalkerFinal payment to a landowner or tenant can be made only when compensation terms have been agreed between the claimant or his agent and the district valuer who acts on behalf of the Department, and the legal conveyance of the land to the Department has been completed by the Treasury Solicitor. In many cases owners wish to await completion of a road scheme before negotiating their claims.
In five of the eight cases specified it is not until relatively recently that the compensation has been agreed and the Treasury Solicitor now has action in hand to settle the legal formalities. In one further case the compensation 270W has been agreed with the owner's agent, but the owner has refused to complete the legal formalities, and has been advised of his right to refer the matter to the Lands Tribunal if he is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation. In the remaining two cases the district valuer is just about to report the agreed compensation on one of them, but has not yet been able to reach agreement on the other. An advance payment of 90 per cent. of estimated compensation has not been made in two cases because no request has been received from the claimants, although they were both advised of their right to an advance. The Department does all that it can to clear these cases as quickly as possible. There is no evidence available to me of maladministration by the Department of Transport in these cases.