§ 110. Mr. GROVESasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has any information respecting the present demand for small holdings and allotments, respectively, in England and Wales: and what was the date of the last official estimates and the numbers of disappointed applicants within this period?
§ Sir H. BARNSTONThe total number of unsatisfied applicants for small holdings in England and Wales on 31st January last was approximately 17,000, and the acreage applied for was 265,000 acres. Of these applicants, just over 8,000 had been approved by the authorities concerned, but only 3,243, requiring 45,071 acres, were ex-service men who had applied before 1st December, 1920, and are therefore entitled to a preference over other applicants. With regard to allotments, the latest figures at present available are those for the year ended 31st December, 1923, which showed an unsatisfied demand for 1,939 acres in England and Wales on the part of 15,912 individual applicants and one allotment association.