§ 33. Mr. LEONARDasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether bulls and rams for stock-breeding purposes are usually bought by the Scottish Department of Agriculture at public auctions; whether any are bought privately; if so, what proportion have been bought privately during the last five years; and what are the numbers so bought, the prices paid, and from whom they were bought?
§ Mr. SKELTONThe Department have found it advantageous for various reasons to obtain a number of bulls and a considerable proportion of rams by private purchase, but they prefer on general grounds to buy in the open market where possible, and they anticipate that in future they will be able to have recourse to public sales to a greater extent than in the past. It has not been possible, in the time available, to extract the detailed information asked for in the third and fourth parts of the question, but I hope to be able to supply these particulars to the hon. Member within a few days.