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Agricultural Land (Utilisation) Bill.
The Bill is intended to promote the better utilisation of agricultural land in
Great Britain and the settlement of unemployed persons thereon, to amend the
law relating to small holdings and allotments and for purposes connected with
these matters. It provides for the establishment of the Agricultural Land
Corporation, gives power to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries to purchase
and hold land for use as demonstration farms, and for purposes of reconditioning,
gives power to the Minister to provide small holdings with financial assistance for
unemployed persons and agricultural workers, arranges for management by County
Councils of small holdings provided by the Minister and gives power to County
Councils to provide cottage holdings.
It will be apparent that these are all matters which will not greatly affect
the administrative county of London in general, and this Borough in particular,
but I would call attention to the following provisions:—
Clause 14.—This Clause gives power to theMinister of Agriculture and Fisheries
without prejudice to the powers and duties of a local authority, to provide allotments
not exceeding one acre in extent for unemployed persons.
Clause 15.—This Clause provides that where it appears to a local authority
that the provision of any allotment gardens required for the purpose of their being
let to unemployed persons, or persons not in full time employment resident in
the area, who desire to take them, will entail a loss, the Council may submit their
proposals to the Minister with estimates of t he expenses on capital or income account
likely to be incurred by the Council and received by the Council by way of rent.
The Minister may approve the proposals with or without modifications and subject
to conditions, certificates of audit, etc., he may undertake to defray in any year
the loss shown in the approved estimates.
Clause 16.—This Clause gives power to the Minister in accordance with
Regulations made by him, to make grants or advances to local authorities or to
allotment societies to assist them in the provision of seeds, fertilizers and equipment
for unemployed persons or persons not in full time employment for whom the
allotments are provided.
(Since the date of this Report, this Bill has received the Royal
Assent.)
London Squares (Preservation) Bill.
This Bill has been introduced by the London County Council and arises out
of the Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares which was appointed
in 1927.
The Report of the Royal Commission was published in 1928 recommending
that all the enclosures referred to in the Report, with the exception of five, should
be permanently preserved as Open Spaces and setting out proposals for carrying
out the recommendation.
In November, 1929, the Government gave notice of a Bill to carry out the
recommendations of the Royal Commission, but in July, 1930, the London County
Council was informed by the Minister of Health that the Government had come
to the conclusion that it might prove impossible to proceed with the Bill as
a Government Measure and the suggestion was made that the London County
Council should introduce a Bill.
The Bill now promoted by the London County Council seeks to give effect
to the main recommendations of the Royal Commission, but owing to the shortness
of time the County Council have not found it possible to deal with certain
recommendations of a subordinate character. The opinion is expressed, however,
that the enclosures once having been protected, attention might be directed to
the question of promoting further legislation to carry out the remaining recommendations
of the Royal Commission.
The County Council ask this Council to support the Bill, the principal provisions
of which are:—