§ 70. Sir R. W. Smithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will at once make arrangements for the Department of Agriculture to have exact information as to the rent per acre per annum of each acre of arable land belonging to the Department?
§ Mr. ColvilleI have information of the rents payable by all tenants on the 350,000 acres belonging to the Department of Agriculture for Scotland; but 1503 these rents are fixed in relation to each holding as a whole. My hon. Friend's suggestion would involve estimating separately the value and acreage of the arable portion of each holding, which would involve a very large expenditure of time. I regret, therefore, that I cannot agree to his proposal.
§ Sir R. W. SmithDoes the right hon. Gentleman not consider that it would be of great value if the information about the price of arable land in Scotland were given? It will be impossible to deal with the agricultural situation effectively unless the Government know whether the value of land in Scotland is going up or down. How can they say that their costings are correct if they do not know the value of the land as a whole?
§ Mr. ColvilleThe inquiry my hon. Friend suggests would really be an impossible one. He will realise that the holdings are not merely arable, but include pasture and grazing land as well; and to get the information for which he asks would involve an enormous inquiry.