STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH ... - Law Commission

from the tithe rentcharge had to pay a redemption annuity, payable to the Crown
for 60 years from 1935. 15
2.5 However, although the Tithe Act 1936 effectively rendered obsolete most of the
provisions in the Tithe Act 1836 (and in later Tithe Acts) relating to the
rentcharge, it did nothing to extinguish corn rents. Corn rents, being a form of
tithe that had already been commuted into money payments before 1836, were
left untouched by the provisions of the 1836 Act that commuted remaining tithes
into tithe rentcharges. Accordingly corn rents did not become tithe rentcharges
and so fell outside the extinguishing provisions of the 1936 Act. Instead the 1936
Act 16 provided that all the provisions in the Tithe Acts 1836 to 1925 relating to the
redemption and apportionment of tithe rentcharge should apply equally to corn
rents. 17 In other words the 1936 Act made available for corn rents the very
provisions that had now become impracticable and obsolete for tithe rentcharge.
An opportunity to repeal all these provisions was provided by the Corn Rents Act
1963 which empowered the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to draw up a
scheme for the redemption and apportionment of corn rents (and other
payments). 18 This would have automatically repealed substantially the whole of
the nineteenth century redemption and apportionment provisions. 19 In the event,
perhaps reflecting the obsolescent nature of corn rents, no such scheme was
drawn up.
14 Recommended repeals
2.1 The following paragraphs indicate briefly the subject matter of the repeals to the
Tithe Acts that are recommended.
2.2 Redemption and apportionment of tithe rentcharge. The statutory provisions in
the Tithe Act 1836 (and in later Tithe Acts) concerning the redemption and
apportionment of tithe rentcharge were rendered virtually obsolete by the Tithe
Act 1936 which extinguished tithe rentcharge. As stated in paragraph 2.10
above these provisions remain unrepealed in relation to corn rents. However, the
obsolescent nature of corn rents coupled with the practical difficulties and
expense of invoking the nineteenth century tithe laws have resulted in these
provisions having no continuing practical utility even for corn rents. Their repeal
is long overdue and is now recommended. 20 In the unlikely event of new
statutory rules being needed to provide for the redemption and apportionment of
corn rents in the future, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue will retain their
powers under the Corn Rents Act 1963 to make an appropriate scheme. The
need for these retained powers should be kept under review.
15
In the event, all such annuities were extinguished on 21 October 1977 by section 56 of the
Finance Act 1977.
16 Section 30. Subsection (2) contained a power for Ministers to draft proposals, for approval
by Parliament, for the extinguishment of corn rents. This power was never exercised.
17 And to certain other payments.
18 Section 1(1).
19 Section 3(4) and Schedule.
20 The repeals involved would include Tithe Act 1860 (section 17); Tithe Rentcharge
Redemption Act 1885; Tithe Act 1925 (section 18(3)); Tithe Act 1936 (section 30 and
Schedule 6); Corn Rents Act 1963 (section 2).
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