§ Lady Megan Lloyd Georgeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the pilot scheme of grants for farm business record keeping.
§ Mr. PeartAs my hon. Friend is aware, my Department recently announced that the Farm Business Recording Scheme would be introduced on 1st November to cover the counties of Cheshire, Norfolk, Staffordshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, and gave details of the Scheme. The Scheme was also introduced on the same day in parts of Scotland and in Northern Ireland. We intend to extend it to cover the whole country as quickly as possible, making any changes our experience in the pilot areas shows to be necessary. Adequate business records are of great benefit to the farmer and the Government hope that the new Scheme will encourage both the keeping of business records and the formation of professional record-keeping services.