§ 6. Mr. Gowerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers in each of the Welsh counties up to the latest convenient date have submitted applications under the Agriculture (Small Farmers) Act; and what additional organisation he has set up to deal with these applications.
§ Mr. GodberTo 13th March, 3,601 applications had been received from farmers in Wales and Monmouthshire. With permission, I will circulate the individual county figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT. My Ministry's staff has been re-organised and strengthened, where necessary, to deal with these applications.
§ Mr. GowerI thank my hon. Friend for that Answer, but can he say how the number of applications from Wales compares with the number made elsewhere; secondly, can he give an assurance that there will be no undue delay in considering them?
§ Mr. GodberThe applications from Wales have come in extremely well, probably in greater numbers than from any other part of the United Kingdom. We shall certainly see that no avoidable delay occurs, but this is a complicated matter and it is bound to take a little time for applications to be dealt with.
§ The following table shows applications received up to 13th March, 1959, under the Agriculture (Small Farmers) Act, by Counties in Wales:
| County | ||||
| Anglesey | … | … | … | 334 |
| Brecon | … | … | … | 107 |
| Caernarvon | … | … | … | 280 |
| Cardigan | … | … | … | 518 |
| Carmarthen | … | … | … | 695 |
| Denbigh | … | … | … | 351 |
| Flint | … | … | … | 136 |
| Glamorgan | … | … | … | 230 |
| Merioneth | … | … | … | 108 |
| Monmouth | … | … | … | 143 |
| Montgomery | … | … | … | 149 |
| Pembroke | … | … | … | 458 |
| Radnor | … | … | … | 92 |
| 3,601 |