National Assistance Act 1948

28 Exchequer contributions to local authorities.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister shall make annual contributions to local authorities in respect of premises provided by them for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, being premises provided in accordance with proposals approved by the Minister and used in accordance with any conditions subject to which the proposals were approved.

(2) It shall be a condition of the making of contributions under this section in respect of any premises—

(a) that the premises are for the time being used or available for the provision therein of accommodation under this Part of this Act; and either

(b) that the construction of the premises, and of any other premises forming part of the same building, was begun on or after the thirty-first day of October, 1947; or

(c) that the premises were acquired on or after that day.

(3) Annual contributions under this section in respect of any premises falling within paragraph (b) of the last foregoing subsection shall be made for such period not exceeding sixty years as the Minister may determine, being a period beginning with the completion of the premises, and shall be of the following amounts, that is to say—

(a) in respect of each single bedroom comprised in the premises which is intended for the provision of accommodation under this Part of this Act, the sum of seven pounds ten shillings;

(b) in respect of each other bedroom comprised in the premises which is intended for the provision of accommodation under this Part of this Act,, such sum not exceeding six pounds ten shillings as may be prescribed by the Minister, multiplied by the number of persons for whose occupation the room is intended.

(4) Annual contributions under this section in respect of any premises falling within paragraph (c) of subsection (2) thereof shall be made for such period not exceeding sixty years as the Minister may determine, being a period beginning with the time when the adaptation of the premises was completed, or if no adaptation was required with the date of the acquisition of the premises, and shall be of an amount not exceeding the amount specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the last foregoing subsection and not exceeding two-thirds of the difference between—

(a) the estimated average annual payments falling to be made by the local authority in question in respect of the charges on account of loans raised by the authority for the purpose of acquiring or adapting the premises, or which would have fallen to be so made if the sums expended by the local authority for the said purpose had been raised by means of loans, and

(b) such sum as may be prescribed by the Minister multiplied by the number of persons for whose accommodation under this Part of this Act provision is made in the premises.

The sum to be prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be of an amount equal to fifty-two times such part of the sum prescribed under the proviso to subsection (3) of section twenty-two of this Act as may be determined by the Minister to represent payment in respect of the use of the premises.

(5) In the last foregoing subsection references to adaptation are references to adaptation for the provision of accommodation under this Part of this Act, and do not include references to any adaptation carried out after the premises in question have been brought into use for the provision of such accommodation.

(6) Where a local authority enters into arrangements under section twenty-six of this Act with any such association as is mentioned in subsection (7) of that section, the local authority shall be entitled to receive the like contributions (if any) under this section in respect of any premises to which the arrangements relate as if the premises had been provided by the local authority, but where a local authority receive contributions by virtue of this subsection as respects any year the local authority shall as respects that year make under subsection (6) of the said section twenty-six contributions to the association of amounts not less than the contributions under this section received by the authority.

(7) Where at any time after the coming into operation of this section the Minister proposes to make an order under section sixteen of the [9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 48.] Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1946 (which, provides for the periodical review of contributions under the Housing Acts, 1936 to 1946) he shall consider the relation of the foregoing provisions of this section to the provisions as to contributions of the Housing Acts. 1936 to 1946, and an order under the said section sixteen may provide, in relation to contributions under this section or any class of such contributions, for reducing the amount of the contributions or the period for which they are payable, or both that amount and that period, to such extent, if any, as appears to the Minister to be requisite having regard to any reduction to be effected by the order of contributions under the said Acts of 1936 to 1940 and of the number of years for which those contributions are to be paid.

(8) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) subsection (1) shall have effect as if at the end thereof there were added the following proviso—

“Provided that no contribution shall be payable under this subsection in respect of any premises in respect of which a contribution is payable by the Secretary of State under any other enactment”;

(b) for the references in subsection (3) to seven pounds ten shillings and to six pounds ten shillings there shall be substituted respectively references to eleven pounds and to nine pounds ten shillings;

(c) for the references to the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1946, and to section sixteen thereof there shall be respectively substituted references to the [9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 54.] Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act, 1946, and to section fourteen thereof;

(d) for the references to the Housing Acts, 1936 to 1946, there shall be substituted references to the Housing (Scotland) Acts, 1925 to 1946.