§ Mr. Wareingasked the chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of payments in respect of contributions in lieu of rates on Crown property withheld by the Treasury valuer from the Liverpool city council during the period 1 April to 14 June 1985 when the local authority delayed setting a rate; and what amount of interest accrued to his Department on the sum withheld.
§ Mr. MacGregorMain payments in respect of contributions in lieu of rates are normally made bi-annually, on 29 May and 29 October; with the first payment equal to half the amount claimed by the local authority for the year as a whole. In 1985, Liverpool city council did not submit a claim until 20 June and payment of £1,663,703 was made of 1 July. It is not possible to give a fixture for the amount of interest involved since the calculation would depend on hypothetical assumptions about how central Government's financing would have been carried out in other circumstances.