Sir Malcolm Bruce
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all property and other chattels that have been bequeathed to the nation over the last decade for the purpose of reducing the national debt where the sale has been overseen by the Treasury Solicitor and from which the proceeds have been handed over to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt; and if, for each item bequeathed, he will give (a) a description and (b) how much was raised and handed over.
[Official Report, 11 July 2013, Vol. 566, c. 384W.]
Letter of correction from Sajid Javid:
An error has been identified in the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce) on 11 July 2013.
The full answer given was as follows:
Sajid Javid
A search of the Department's records has disclosed one case in which the Treasury Solicitor oversaw the realisation of property, with proceeds handed over to the Commissioners. That was a bequest which was realised in 2011 with the sale of property in Cambridgeshire. £45,900 was realised from the sale of the property.
The Treasury Solicitor will generally only become involved in bequests where it is executor. Generally, in cases where a bequest is made for the reduction of the national debt, HM Treasury will ask the executors of the will to realise the property themselves before transferring funds to the Commissioners. Over the last decade, sales of those properties have included property in Leicester (sold for £452,000), Leeds (£275,000), East Sussex (£240,000) and Merseyside (£143,000). Those bequests also included some chattels with a total value of £11,995, but further information on chattels would require a detailed search of paper files, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The correct answer should have been:
Sajid Javid
The Treasury is not aware of any incidences in the last decade where the Treasury Solicitor oversaw the realisation of property for the purpose of the reduction of the national debt. The Treasury Solicitor will generally only become involved in bequests where it is executor. Generally, in cases where a bequest is made for the reduction of the national debt, HM Treasury will ask the executors of the will to realise the property themselves before transferring funds to the Commissioners. Over the last decade, sales of those properties have included property in Leicester (sold for £452,000), East Sussex (£240,000) and Merseyside (£143,000). Those bequests also included some chattels with a value of at least £10,455, but further information on chattels would require a detailed search of paper files, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.