HC Deb 22 June 1978 vol 952 cc690-1
4. Mr. Farr

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number of farms made available for letting in the latest year for which figures are available; and what was the comparative figure five years earlier.

Mr. Strang

No information is available on the number of holdings offered for letting in 1972 and 1977, the latest years for which figures on agricultural holdings are available.

Mr. Farr

I cannot thank the Minister for that reply because it was really a nonevent. However, will he take steps to look into a survey which was conducted very recently in the Border regions, which shows that out of 121 tenancies that expired only four were reoffered to would-be tenants? Will he look at the whole question again and see whether recent legislation on this subject is having a serious impact on the continuance of the valuable role of the tenant farmer in Britain?

Mr. Strang

The hon. Member must recognise that the legislation that provides for a succession of the sons of tenant farmers has the effect of protecting many tenancies which would otherwise be lost. I also point out that inevitably other considerations, such as fiscal ones, are affecting the availability of land for letting. Indeed, this trend has gone on for a very long time.

Mr. Watt

Will the Minister take steps to put an early end to the farm amalgamation scheme, a scheme that is now ensuring that what were once viable farms are being added to neighbouring farms, thus reducing the number of holdings that are available for let or purchase?

Mr. Strang

Clearly, the whole question of the availability of farms for letting, rents, and everything else, is a matter of concern. That is why my right hon. Friend set up the Northfield Committee, which is giving all these issues very deep consideration.

Mr. Jopling

Will the Parliamentary Secretary understand that his first reply gives the impression that he has a blind eye? Is he aware that it is widely known in agriculture that there are now far fewer tenancies? Has he been told of the most helpful initiative that has been taken jointly by the two sides in this problem —the Country Landowners' Association and the National Farmers' Union—in forming a joint committee to try to deal with the problems of shortages of tenancies? Will the Government give an undertaking that they will give sympathetic attention to whatever conclusion that committee might come to whilst the present Government still happen to be in power?

Mr. Strang

What I shall not turn my blind eye to is the fact that, prior to our recent legislation, a man might have invested the bulk of his working life, and the earnings from that working life, in a rented farm, only to find that when his father died he had no rights whatsoever to continue farming that farm. I shall resist any attempt being made by the Opposition or anyone else to make the succession legislation the whipping boy for high rents or anything else in the industry.

Mr. Wiggin

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek an early opportunity to raise the matter on the Adjournment.