§ 34. Mr. Willeyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a further statement on the damage caused by the recent flooding of agricultural land; what assistance has been given under the Agricultural Goods and Services Scheme; and what additional assistance will be afforded.
§ Mr. John HareDamage to agricultural land following the excessive rainfall at the beginning of the month has taken the form of waterlogging and storm damage over a considerable area of Eastern England as well as actual flooding of roughly 20,000 acres in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and scattered areas elsewhere. It is impracticable to make any estimate of the damage to crops other than those in the flooded area where losses roughly estimated to be of the order of £200,000 have been incurred.
939 As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Kimball) on 17th July, assistance will be given wherever possible under the Agricultural Goods and Services Scheme, to those applying on as favourable terms as the scheme allows. I am unable to offer assistance to individual farmers beyond this.
§ Mr. WilleyWill the right hon. Gentleman keep this matter under review, since in some areas this flooding has been an absolute calamity for some farmers? Will he also consider drainage, since there are serious allegations about the inadequacy of drainage in some of the areas?