22. Lieut.-Colonel Sir ARNOLD WILSONasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state the number of acres let for allotments and the number of allotment holders in England and Wales in 1914, 1920, and 1932; and whether, with a view to encouraging the provision of allotments, he will consider the intro- 1401 duction of a consolidation Bill which will embody the existing law on the subject in a form accessible and intelligible to a parish meeting or other council under Section 22 (1) of the Allotments Act, 1922?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Captain Margesson)I have been asked to reply. A statement is being circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT giving as far as possible the information asked for in the first part of the question. As regards the second part, my right hon. Friend is afraid it is not possible to contemplate consolidation of the
| Land provided for Allotments in England arid Wales. | |||||||
| Year. | Land provided by Councils under the Allotments Acts. | Land let by Private Owners direct to plot-holders or Allotment Associations. | Total. | ||||
| No, of Allotment Holders. | Acreage. | No. of Allotment. Holders. | Acreage. | No. of Allotment Holders. | Acreage. | ||
| Acres. | Acres. | Acres. | |||||
| 1914 | … | 130,526 and 52 associations. | 33,523 | Not known | Not known | — | — |
| 1920 | … | 584,256 and 3 associations.* | 65,474 | 598,157 and 3 associations. | 98,784 | 1,182,413 and 6 associations.* | 164,258 |
| 1930† | … | 454,399 | 61,135 | 492,534 | 80,811 | 946,933† | 141,946 |
| * After making allowance for the fact that some local authorities were unable to give precise information as to private allotments in their area and that some authorities did not render returns, it was estimated that the total number of allotment holders on 31st December, 1920, was about 1,330,000. | |||||||
| † This is the latest year for which returns from all local authorities were called for, the total number of allotment holders being estimated at 965,000 (see preceding note). |