§ 52. Mr. Championasked the Minister of Agriculture if he will reverse the decision of the Derbyshire A.E.C. to give a widow, Mrs. M. Harriman, Walton-on-Trent, a week's notice to quit her allotment, taking into consideration that a week's notice to quit an allotment is not in accordance with the Allotments Act, 1922; that there is no likelihood of a building licence being issued for building on this plot for some time to come; that the land commissioner sanctioned the issue of the notice without seeking the views of of Mrs. Harriman; and that there is much disquiet locally about the way in which the decision to issue the notice was taken.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsI have already written to my hon. Friend about this case. The notice to quit was served by the Walton-on-Trent Parish Council, on whose behalf the land had been requisitioned for wartime allotments by the Derbyshire war agricultural executive committee. As the land, which was not being cultivated, has now been released from requisition, I am afraid it is impossible to rescind the notice. I am advised that the provisions of the Allotments Act, 1922, relating to the determination of tenancies do not apply to this case, but there is nothing to prevent Mrs. Harriman asking the owner of the land to allow her to grow crops on it next season, if building is unlikely to take place before the autumn,
§ Mr. ChampionIs my right hon. Friend aware that the treatment given this widow by his officers is regarded in the district, and everywhere else, as being thoroughly unsatisfactory?
§ Mr. WilliamsI am not aware of that.