56. Mr. Vaneasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is satisfied that full use is being made by farmers of the available services of the W.L.A. and E.V.W.S.; and whether he has received any representations from C.A.E.C.s that the number in hostels already exceeds the demand.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsI am anxious that committee labour should be more fully employed all the year round and also that farmers should take more Land Army members and E.V.W.'s into their own direct employment. As regards committee labour, local adjustments are made from time to time in consultation with committees, but in view of the demands of the agricultural expansion programme, I do not regard the number of committee workers as excessive.
Mr. VaneDoes the right hon. Gentleman's reply mean that he is not satisfied that full use is being made? Also, would he answer the second part of my Question whether he has had any representations made to him by the county agricultural executive committees?
§ Mr. WilliamsI am quite satisfied that in some areas, particularly Westmorland, farmers are hesitant before they take members of the Women's Land Army, which I regret. That applies to many other areas. I hope that farmers will see the wisdom of using existing Women's Land Army labour, because unless they do so, they may be very short of labour in the summer.