§ 11. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the number of appeals that have been made to him by tenant farmers on the ground that the owner of the farm had failed to fulfil his obligations under Section 11 (3) of the Agriculture Act, 1947; and in how many of these cases the tenant farmer has won his appeal.
§ Mr. GodberThe law does not give tenant farmers a right of appeal to the Minister on these grounds. The hon. Member may have in mind the number of cases in which complaints have been made by tenants with a view to consideration being given to disciplinary action under the Agriculture Act. I regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. JohnsonIn view of the Minister's answer to Question No. 7 a few moments 11 ago, may I ask whether he is satisfied that this procedure is working well? Is he aware of the disquiet of many farmers in view of the state of affairs existing between themselves and their landlords? Would he consider making a statement at some time or issuing a circular to reassure the tenant farmers in this connection?
§ Mr. GodberVery real safeguards are available to tenant farmers, whether on the question of repairs or of improvements. I should have thought that those safeguards were reasonably adequate, but we shall have an opportunity perhaps of debating this question when we consider the Agriculture Bill.