Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture. – in the House of Commons at on 4 March 1935.
Mr George Lambert
, South Molton
asked the Minister of Agriculture the acreage of the land for which the Ministry acts as landlord or farmer under the Small Holdings Colonies Acts; what amount was paid, including cost of improvements for the land; and what has been the aggregate profit or loss to the latest available date?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
The Ministry is not now farming any land acquired under the Small Holdings Colonies Acts. The Ministry is still landlord of five settlements, comprising 9,456 acres, so acquired, part of which is held on lease. The consideration paid for this area, including cost of improvements, was £327,919, to which must be added 1,375 perpetual annuities of £1 each and a perpetual rentcharge now standing at £18,500 per annum, against which must be set off a capital sum of £78,319 realised from the sale by the Ministry of portions of the property to which the rentcharge applies. The rent payable by the Ministry in respect of that part of the area which is held on lease is £1,616 per annum. The aggregate loss to the 31st March, 1934, on the five settlements still retained by the Ministry was £269,581 on estate account and £82,196 on farm account. This covers a period of about 15 years, and includes the sums of £206,125 and £25,691 in respect of interest on Exchequer advances for capital expenditure on estate account and farm account respectively.
Mr George Lambert
, South Molton
Do I understand that the Ministry is no longer farming this land?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
Yes, Sir.
Mr Wilfred Paling
, Wentworth
Is this the reason for one of the Supplementary Estimates last week; and was not a question asked of the Minister then as to whether he would issue a white paper giving a full report on the matter?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
No, Sir. These are certain settlements of which the Ministry is landlord. It is an experiment in collective farming which the Ministry was then engaged in winding up.
Mr Herbert Samuel
, Darwen
Do the figures which the Minister has given mean that the taxpayer has lost the whole of the £300,000?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
I think the Ministry's experience as a landlord has been very similar to that of all other landlords; they have lost a great deal of money.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
