§ 32. Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made in 1711 the amalgamation of farms into larger units.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesIt is not possible to give the total number of amalgamations. The decline in the number of units in the agricultural census and the annual fall in the number of full-time farm businesses averaged 3,000–4,000 in England and Wales between 1965 and 1967. The Government's amalgamation scheme has so far attracted some 1,200 applications.
§ Mr. Bryant Godman IrvineIs the Minister satisfied with that progress? Should not he have a look at two factors, in particular—first, the 40-year restrictive covenant which has been put on by Schedule 3 to the Agriculture Act; and, secondly, the effect of fragmentation which is caused by Estate Duty and capital levies?
§ Mr. HughesI think that the scheme, which is generally welcomed by the House and by the country, needs to be looked at over the next two or three years. I am anxious to see exactly how it is working out. It has been in operation for only 16 months. The response is not unsatisfactory. Structure schemes are entirely new to Britain and it is only natural that farmers will want to take some time to consider the pros and cons before they reach what is, after all, a major decision for them.
§ Mr. Maxwell-HyslopWill the Minister bear in mind that output per acre is not necessarily coincidental with profitability per acre? Over-stressing profitability can result in larger units from which the output per acre is not as high as it was from the smaller units. This can be against the national interest.
§ Mr. HughesThis is a factor which must be taken into account. It is a voluntary scheme and it is up to farmers themselves to decide whether they want to take advantage of it.