§ 50. Mr. Garro Jonesasked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the large number of farmers being dispossessed of their farms and dwellings on the ground of inefficient husbandry, he can state that no farmer is dispossessed if his failure to farm efficiently is due to inability to afford the necessary equipment; whether the farmer dispossessed has any right of appeal to a judicial authority; and what steps, if any, are taken to re-absorb the dispossessed farmers in useful agricultural work?
Mr. HudsonNo farmer is dispossessed solely on account of his inability to afford the necessary equipment. There is no right of appeal to judicial authority, but each case of intended dispossession is dealt with in accordance with the procedure explained in the Reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sir J. Mellor) on nth September. In certain instances where the Executive Committee has taken possession and is farming the land the previous occupier has been retained in the Committee's employment, but in any other case there should be no difficulty in obtaining employment elsewhere on agricultural work which he is competent and willing to undertake.
§ Mr. Garro JonesIs my right hon. Friend aware that the first part of his answer completely evades the first part of my Question, which asked "whether, in view of the large number of farmers being dispossessed of their farms and dwellings on the ground of inefficient husbandry, he can state that no farmer is dispossessed if his failure to farm efficiently is due to inability to afford the necessary equipment''? That Question was not answered.
Mr. HudsonOn the contrary, I answered it. Either the hon. Member did not hear me, for which I apologise, or he did not pay attention. In my first sentence, I said "No farmer is dispossessed solely on account of his inability to afford the necessary equipment." That is the most specific answer it is possible to give.
§ Mr. Garro JonesIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that he says that no farmer is dispossessed solely on account of his failure to afford the necessary equipment? I did not suggest he could be dispossessed solely on that ground, because inefficient husbandry must accompany it.
§ 54. Sir J. Mellorasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that in many cases, where tenacies are terminated by him on the ground of bad husbandry, the landlords, having paid no compensation for disturbance, are able to re-let to approved tenants at increased rentals; that the new rentals are often substantially higher than the average for existing tenancies of similar farms in the district; and whether he will take steps to prevent landlords from obtaining undue advantage from his intervention under emergency powers?
Mr. HudsonI have no information which would bear out the statements in the first and second parts of the Question.
§ Sir J. MellorWill my right hon. Friend consult with the county war agricultural executive committees in order to test the accuracy of my assertions?
Lieut.-Colonel Sir William AllenDoes not all this trouble arise because the farmers in England and Scotland do not own their farms?
Mr. HudsonNo, Sir. I think it is the other way round. One of the main difficulculties at the present time is the fact that such a large number of farmers in England and Wales bought their farms after the last war and in the interval have been short of capital for that reason.