§ 32. Mr. Bodyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many agricultural holdings are owned or administered by his Department; and how many of them have been separately visited by him in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. Peart1,365 agricultural holdings are in my possession or administered by my Department. This includes 805 smallholdings managed by the L.S.A. on my behalf. I visited a number of the holdings on one of my estates last winter and my senior professional officers frequently visit Ministry properties on my behalf.
§ Mr. BodyIs the Minister aware that that Answer is even worse than I expected? Does he realise that there are 271 agricultural holdings in the County of Holland and that he has still not visited any of them?
§ Mr. PeartI cannot see every holding in the country. I spend as much time as possible every weekend, travelling about the country and speaking to the farmers. I cannot do any more than I am doing.