§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the countryside sites where public access has been granted by the landowner in return for exemption from inheritance tax, the amount of inheritance tax forgone in return for granting this access for each year for the past 10 years, the number of sites involved for that year for the past 10 years, and the steps that have been taken to publicise the access to these sites.
§ Sir George Young[holding answer 28 November 1994]: The normal rules of taxpayers confidentiality prevent me from giving details of individual cases where conditional exemption from inheritance tax has been granted.
The annual average cost of conditions exemption from inheritance tax, or its predecessor capital transfer tax, for 759W land and buildings is estimated to have been between £5 million and £10 million over the period 1984–85 to 1993–94.
There have been 133 designations of land for additional exemption from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax in England. Figures for designations of land on a year by year basis are not available at acceptable cost.
The owner of land which is conditionally exempt from inheritance tax is required to publicise the agreed public access arrangements. The heritage advisory agencies will discuss with each owner the appropriate level of publicity. Each case is considered individually and all relevant factors, including the existing level of publicity, are taken into account. Although the extent of public access may already be widely known, for example where substantial public access is already given, the owner will generally be required to take specific steps to publicise the public access arrangements, for example by advertising the access arrangements in a local tourist office or town hall. For new designations of scenic land in England, owners are required to display at all points of entry onto their land map boards showing the agreed public access.