§ 33. Mr. Championasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to increase during the year 1956–57 the number of smallholdings provided under the smallholdings legislation.
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. G. R. H. Nugent)It would be inconsistent with the Government's general economic policy to encourage county councils to promote smallholding schemes involving heavy capital expenditure, and for the time being only schemes of special urgency are being approved.
§ Mr. ChampionIs the Parliamentary Secretary aware that this appears to be a betrayal of Part IV of the Agriculture Act, 1947, and that his failure, or the failure of his Ministry, to transfer 650 acres at Yeldham from his possession to the Essex County Council for smallholding purposes definitely points to the fact that the Ministry is not doing enough in this connection?
§ Mr. NugentNo, Sir; I do not think it is in any way inconsistent with the spirit of the 1947 Act. With reference to the Essex proposal at Yeldham, the land concerned was not of very good quality, and the expenditure concerned was excessively high.
§ Mr. C. DaviesIs the Minister aware that there is a great shortage of, and a great demand for, smallholdings? Is he aware that in my county, for example, every time the county council has a vacant smallholding there are never fewer than about 50 or 60 well qualified young couples begging for that smallholding, of whom only one can be satisfied? What does he propose to do?
§ Mr. NugentYes, Sir. Of course, it is a fact that the vast majority of our farms 908 in this country are smallholdings, so that in fact hundreds of thousands of smallholdings already exist. But before turning existing large holdings into smallholdings, we must be satisfied that the nation's resources will be well used in that particular way. At the present time, it would be wrong to proceed in that direction.
§ Major Legge-BourkeIn view of my hon. Friend's remarks about the need for some economy in capital expenditure, will he bear in mind that, certainly in the Fens, there is a greater demand for part-time holdings, which would require no such capital expenditure, than for full-time holdings, and that, if it were not for the policy initiated by right hon. Gentlemen opposite, these part-time holdings would have been supplied in far greater numbers?
§ Mr. NugentThe need for part-time holdings in the Fens is always kept well before us by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for the Isle of Ely (Major Legge-Bourke.)