§ 15. Mr. Wallasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will extend the facilities for which grants can be made under the Horticultural Improvement Scheme.
§ Mr. SoamesIf my hon. Friend will let me know what additional facilities he has in mind, I will gladly look at them.
§ Mr. WallSo only one-third of the sum voted by Parliament has so far been spent. Can my right hon. Friend consider extending the scheme to include modern labour-saving devices and the installation of heating apparatus? Is he aware that unless it is extended it will be increasingly difficult for British producers to be competitive with the Continental growers?
§ Mr. SoamesI am considering this matter. If my hon. Friend would like to give me more specific ideas of what he has in mind, I would be grateful.
§ Sir P. AgnewIs not one of the difficulties not that the range of things for which grants can be given should be extended but that in the existing range the amount of two-thirds to be found by the producer is in many cases too large to match the one-third given by the Government? Could not that be looked at?
§ Mr. SoamesThirty-three and one-third per cent. is a very generous grant.
§ Mr. Godman IrvineWill my right hon. Friend not overlook the problem of a house which was blown down, and put, by the advice of his Department, on another site, and then found to be ineligible for grant?
§ Mr. SoamesI would hate to overlook that.