§ 32 and 36. Mr. G. HARVEYasked the Minister of Agriculture (1) in view of the reduction of the numbers of sheep in the country, stated in the Linlithgow Report to be, approximately, 6,000,000 since the year 1900, if he will state what encouragement, if any, is being given to agriculturalists to at least make up this deficiency which must have a considerable bearing upon the present high food costs;
(2) whether his attention has been drawn to a statement in the Linlithgow Report on meat supplies that since the beginning of this century cattle have increased in numbers by less than 1 per cent., whilst sheep have declined nearly 25 per cent.; and is the Department prepared to suggest any remedy?
Mr. WOODI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on 16th February to the hon. Member for Blackpool (Sir W. de Frece), a copy of which I am sending to him. The Linlithgow Report was based on figures for 1922, and since that date the number of cattle in Great Britain has increased by nearly 200,000, or about 3 per cent., while sheep have increased by over 1,600,000, or about 8 per cent.