§ 98. Mr. GWYNNEasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture whether he is aware that a return demanding answers to 55 questions in minute detail as to crops and livestock within five days has been issued to farmers, together with a list of instructions under 18 paragraphs; and whether, in view of the amount of information asked for, he thinks the period allowed for supplying same is reasonable?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of AGRICULTURE (Sir Arthur Boscawen)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, I do not think that five days is an insufficient period to allow for supplying the information required, which can be furnished in the great majority of cases without any special investigation. It is essential that the particulars supplied should be as on 4th June, and if a longer period than five days were allowed there would be a danger that the number of livestock, for instance, might be given as on another date, which might impair seriously the accuracy of the statistics as a whole. Experience has shown that farmers find no difficulty in filling up and returning the forms at once.