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(including rates and taxes) for the year, of dwellings erected by the Council, was
£307,192, from which'amount should be deducted the losses arising from empties
and rent irrecoverable. The'financial result, after providing for interest and sinking
fund charges on the capital expenditure, was a deficiency of £365,480. The annual
deficiency under this Act in excess of a penny rate is met by a subsidy out of the
National Exchequer. The interest and sinking fund charges amounted to £615,588,
or 200-39 per cent. of the gross rental.
Other outgoings amounted to £184,794, or 60.15 per cent. of the gross rental,
including £122,097 (39.16 per cent. of the gross rental) for rates and taxes.
The aggregate capital expenditure on Assisted Scheme dwellings erected under
the Act of 1923 was £851,561 up to 31st March, 1925. The number of dwellings
erected under this Act which came into charge during the year 1925 was relatively
small, and a large proportion of the dwellings was.not occupied until the financial year
was well advanced. In the circumstances it hardly seems worth while recapitulating
such financial results of the 1923 scheme as are available at this early stage.
The aggregate capital expenditure up to 31st March, 1925, on Assisted Scheme
dwellings erected under the Act of 1924 was £432,941. Very few houses erected under
this Act were ready for occupation by the end of the year, and even less than in
the case of dwellings erected under the Act of 1923 would any useful purpose be
served by touching here upon the financial results for the year under review.
It will be gathered from the foregoing that there were 19,631 dwellings (apart
from the cubicles at lodging-houses) in occupation on 31st March, 1925. The gross
rental collected during the year was nearly £749,000.
Rent irrecoverable.
About 140 tenants left during the year without paying arrears of rent, but the
amount irrecoverable amounted only to £560, or about 08 per cent, of the total rent:
Of the amount irrecoverable £96, or "027 per cent. of the gross rental, arose on NonAssisted
Schemes, while £464, or "15 per cent. of the gross rental, arose on the Assisted
Schemes.
Empties.
The loss by empties during the year was £906, or 14 per cent. of the rent, as
compared with .34 per cent. in 1923-24. These empties were caused entirely by
dwellings having to be cleaned and repaired in connection with changes of tenancy.
It is noteworthy that, for the first year since Carrington House was opened in 1903,
there was a surplus on the working of this lodging-house. In each previous year
there has been a substantial deficiency in respect of this house, but the figures for
1924-25 show a surplus of about £818.
Repairs.
The high standard of upkeep, both as regards repairs and cleanliness, has been
fully maintained. The necessary repairs to the dwellings are carried out by direct
employment of labour. The number of repairs workmen employed varies largely
according to the season, but during the year 1924-25, the average number of
workmen employed was about 300. The amount expended on this work in 1913-14
was £23,934. In 1920-21, when there was practically no repairs work on dwellings
erected under Assisted Schemes, the expenditure had risen to £68,572, this increase
being due to the higher wages, to the rise in the prices of material, and to the
necessity of overtaking the arrears of painting and other work suspended during
the war. During 1923-24, the expenditure on Non-Assisted Schemes amounted
to £47,560, and to £15,825 on Assisted Schemes. It will be seen that by this time
there had been relatively a substantial decrease in the expenditure under this head,
this being attributable partly to the fall in wages and the cost of materials and partly
to arrears of work caused by the war having been overtaken in the preceding few
vears. During the year 1924-25 the expenditure on Non-Assisted Schemes amounted
to £47,725, and £36,517 on Assisted Schemes. It will be noted that the expenditure
in this respect on Non-Assisted Schemes has remained practically at the same figure
during the last two years. The increase in the expenditure on Assisted Schemes is
due, of course, to the growth of the number of dwellings coming into charge in 1920
and in subsequent years.
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