§ 39. Lady Tweedsmuirasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the total cereal acreage of Scotland is being used for the Oats Certification Scheme of his Department.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. McNair Snadden)The acreage certified under the Scheme this year is 1,295 acres, or a little over 0.1 per cent. of the total Scottish cereal acreage of 1,160,513 acres.
§ Lady TweedsmuirIn view of the very low percentage of the acreage used in the scheme, does the Joint Under-Secretary think it is advisable that it should be continued, and, if so, will he look again at the way in which it is devised in order to make it more popular?
§ Mr. SnaddenThe noble Lady will appreciate that this scheme has been in being only since 1950, and that that is only two years ago. I think that the acreage of 1,295 of the highest quality seed is, at any rate, not unsatisfactory.