§ 34. Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the basis upon which he has fixed the amounts payable to farmers in respect of improvement grants in cases where the farmer does the work himself.
§ Mr. GodberThe standard costs on which a farmer may claim grant assume that the improvement is carried out in the most economical way consistently with the constructional requirements set out in the regulations. The figures include allowances for the cost of materials and for labour according to the nature of the work to be done.
§ Sir I. FraserIs my hon. Friend aware that there is some feeling among small farmers who do the work themselves that they are given much smaller figures to work upon than they would be if they employed a contractor? Do his methods of calculation take into account the supervisory aspect of the matter? Will he look at this question, because it is desirable that the small farmer should feel that he has a square deal?
§ Mr. GodberI am rather surprised that my hon. Friend should say that small farmers feel that. I myself was not aware of that feeling, and I should be glad to look at any information my hon. Friend may care to let me have about it. My own view is that this is a very difficult matter on which to ascertain real standard costs. We have done our best with the deliberate intention of helping the small farmer, because this is the only way in which he can include his labour.