§ 3. Mr. Moateasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to be able to issue the promised consultative document on the subject of agricultural service houses.
§ Mr. StrangMy right hon. Friends aim to issue this document as soon as practicable—probably next month.
§ Mr. MoateWill the Minister be sure to consult all shades of opinion in the agriculture industry in this matter? He must be aware that many farmworkers would value the retention of the tied cottage system. Is he aware, for example, of the views of the Scottish farmworkers' section of the Transport and General Workers' Union, published recently? Will he confirm that he has approached these consultations with a completely open mind and, in that spirit, has not ruled out the possibility of achieving his 2025 objectives without legislation, if that should prove possible?
§ Mr. StrangI do not doubt that farm-workers as a whole will warmly welcome the implementation of this historic reform, but nevertheless we shall consult all the interests in this matter—which is why we are producing the consultative document.
§ Miss MaynardDoes my hon. Friend agree that no man's home should depend upon his job—[HON. MEMBERS: "What about the Prime Minister?".] Does he agree that since half the farmworkers now live in free houses it is quite possible for the industry to operate without the tied cottage system?
§ Mr. StrangI agree that it is desirable that we should move to a situation in which a worker's house is not dependent on his employment. I think that the interjections of Conservative Members in comparing the position of a farm-worker with that of the Prime Minister illustrates how ignorant they are of the position in which farmworkers and their families live.
§ Mr. MonroDoes not the Minister realise that he is totally out of touch with reality? Does he not understand that in livestock rearing and hill farms, for example, it is impossible to operate without tied houses? Will he stop preaching his gospel in the countryside when he knows that many farmworkers and the NFU do not support him?
§ Mr. StrangI am sure that even the hon. Member will he aware of the very long campaign which the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers has rightly mounted on this issue—
§ Mr. StrangWe are talking about England and Wales. Agriculture is a devolved subject. The situation in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
§ Mr. TorneyIs my hon. Friend aware that a great deal of real hardship is caused to farmworkers in some parts of the country, particularly in the South of England, through being thrown out of their homes when they no longer work for a farmer, perhaps because of health problems? Is he aware that for a long 2026 time the agricultural workers' union has been conducting a campaign on this issue, and that it has been Labour Party policy in past manifestos to abolish the tied cottage system? Can my hon. Friend say anything more definite about the time when something positive will be done to that end?
§ Mr. StrangI am grateful to my hon. friend for those remarks. The time when a farmworker loses his job, perhaps through ill health, retirement, or just because he has fallen out with his boss, is the time when he most needs his home, but it is precisely then that he cannot count upon it. It is our clear intention to implement this very important reform in the next Session.
§ Mr. WigginSince the agricultural tied cottage represents a very small percentage of all tied houses, will the Minister explain why the Government have selected them for this inquiry?
§ Mr. StrangWe have done so because it is in the agriculture industry that far and away the most hardship has been caused. The evidence for that can be found in the number of possession orders granted each year and in the number of evictions, which represent only the tip of the iceberg.