§ 55. Mr. W. Robertsasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can make a statement showing the extent to which the Agricultural Requisites Scheme has been made use of by farmers?
Mr. HudsonBetween the inception of the scheme in February and 18th May the cash value of the assistance granted to farmers in England and Wales was £28,200, the number of farmers concerned being approximately 460. It is intended that the scheme shall supplement and not replace credit from normal sources such as banks and merchants, and consequently the sum of £28,200 represents only cases where normal sources of credit were not available. These figures do not include certain recent applications which have been approved direct by County War Agricultural Executive Committees and have not yet been notified to my Department.
§ Mr. RobertsWill the Minister be ready to review the conditions of this scheme with a view to a radical alteration so that credit facilities may be available on a much more comprehensive basis?
Mr. HudsonThe scheme has been in operation for only three months, but I will certainly look into it and if other facilities are required I will consider the matter further.