§ 9. Mr. Freudasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total number of staff employed in his Department at the latest available date.
§ Mr. John Silkin14,799 on 1st March 1978, but some 660 were transferred to the Welsh Office on 1st April.
§ Mr. FreudIs the Minister aware that, in view of the latest Common Market regulations, farmers now have to keep log books for all journeys within even 25 miles of their farms? As farmers in my constituency do not have the kind of staff whom the Minister employs, will he use his best endeavours to ensure that the time of farmers is spent more constructively and profitably than keeping black books about short journeys from field to field?
§ Mr. SilkinThere are quite a number of directives and regulations that would interest me and that I ought to keep an eye on, but that might not leave me much time to do anything else. It was recently pointed out to me that, whereas the Ten Commandments occupied under 200 words and the Declaration of Independence under 500 words, the Common Market directive on duck eggs occupied 120,000 words.
§ Mr. RadiceOn the subject of jobs, will my right hon. Friend see what further steps he can take to save jobs in the baking industry following the Spillers dispute?
§ Mr. SilkinMy hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary touched on this point. It is a matter in which there is great concern, in particular in my hon. Friend's constituency, where there is a grave danger of loss of work. As a result, I have made contact with the employers, who are meeting the Bakers' Union today, and asked for their assurance that they are prepared to agree to a five-day working week. I have that assurance. That at least will be a start. Other prospects may open up. Certainly both my 658 right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment and I will do everything that we can.
§ Mr. ShepherdWill the Minister let the House know what his views are on the suggestion for ADAS that it might broaden the sphere of its operation to include marketing functions? Will this not lead to an increase in civil servants and duplication of service and be yet a further burden on the taxpayer?
§ Mr. SilkinThere are a number of matters on the role of ADAS that still need to be clarified and a number of suggestions of which the hon. Gentleman may be aware. I say two things about ADAS. First, every farmer I meet tells me how worthwhile the organisation is. Secondly, every farmer I meet bitterly regrets my Conservative predecessor's cutting of the organisation.