§ 50 Squadron-Leader Donnerasked the Minister of Agriculture (1) whether, in view of the compromise reached with the fishing interests, he is satisfied that the condition of the land in the valleys of the Hampshire rivers is such as to meet the needs of war in the matter of food production; and will he give an assurance that such measures as may be necessary to bring the land into full cultivation will be taken forthwith;
(2), why a compromise was effected which precluded the Hampshire Rivers Catchment Board from operating outside the main river area as requested by the Hampshire War Agricultural Executive Committee, and as provided for under Section 14 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous War Provisions) Acts;
(3), whether he will establish an impartial committee of inquiry, with one of His Majesty's Judges as chairman, to consider the extension of the activities of the Hampshire Rivers Catchment Board so as to include within their purview the Upper Test and Upper Itchin and submit the full evidence now at the disposal of the Hampshire War Agricultural Executive Committee for the consideration of the committee of inquiry?
§ 53. Captain Gammansasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he gave instructions that the Hampshire War Agricultural Executive Committee should be consulted before reaching a compromise with the fishing interests in the Test Valley?
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture (Mr. Tom Williams)As the answer is inevitably very long, I will, with your permission, Mr. Speaker, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Following is the answer: The history of this matter is briefly as follows:—
When, as a result of several personal visits, my right hon. Friend decided that it was necessary to try and do something to deal with the drainage position on the River Test and other rivers in Hampshire he made an Order creating the Hampshire Rivers Catchment Area. In view of the volume of objections, a public inquiry was held. At the inquiry the objectors included not only the owners of some hundred thousand acres, but several local authorities, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, Winchester College, the watercress growers and certain fishery interests. At the conclusion of the inquiry two courses were open to my right hon. Friend: (1) to obtain the sanction of Parliament to the Order or (2) to endeavour to reach a compromise. The House will note that an Order if opposed has to go through the ordinary Private, Bill Procedure of this House. In view of the volume of opposition, it was clear that this process would inevitably take considerable time, and there was no certainty that the Order would not be rejected. Even if Parliament had confirmed the Order, further delay would have been incurred in setting up the Board, and there would have been a legacy of bitterness which would have promised ill for the future operations of a Board set up under such circumstances.
My right hon. Friend's main concern was to try and increase the area of arable in the valley. He satisfied himself that there was no practical hope of securing any appreciable increase of arable in the Upper Test and that the most promising area was that below Kimbridge. He therefore decided that the most effective procedure and the one that was likely to obtain the quickest results in war-time would be to proceed with the constitution 1444 of a Catchment Board but to limit the extent of its "main river" on which it is statutorily empowered to do drainage work, in the case of the River Test to the lower part of the river, and to rely on the willing co-operation of the various interests to do by voluntary support what was possible to improve the meadows for grazing in the Upper Test. He accordingly made the Order on the understanding that the "main river" would be so limited and this arrangement has come to be known as "the compromise." He accepts full responsibility for this decision. The Catchment Board have been constituted, they have set to Work; they have appointed an engineer, carried out surveys and work has actually been started. All this has been done very much more quickly than would have been possible under the alternative procedure referred to above. In addition to that, voluntary schemes have been discussed and I understand accepted, which will result in a material improvement in the condition of the meadows in the Upper Test.
My right hon. Friend is aware that there is still a good deal of propaganda going on against the decision which he made. His sole aim is to bring about the quickest possible results in war-time, having regard to the necessary limitations of labour and machinery. He would venture to appeal to all concerned to cease recriminations and to get on with the job (a) of improving the grazing in the Upper Test, and (b) of increasing the arable for the Lower Test as far as possible.
I should add that the Hampshire War Agricultural Executive Committee are my right hon. Friend's agents for the purpose of increasing food production in accordance with such powers and duties as he delegates to them. Certain members of that Committee including the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman have been made members of the Catchment Board, and this step should ensure the necessary co-operation between all parties.