HC Deb 21 May 1981 vol 5 cc404-5
5. Mr. Heddle

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the prospects for those young people wishing to enter the farming industry.

Mr. Wiggin

So far as openings are available, I am satisfied that there is good provision for young people to acquire the skills and experience needed for a worthwhile career in the industry.

Mr. Heddle

I am heartened by my hon. Friend's reply, but does he agree that there is an enormous untapped reservoir of talent within agriculture waiting to get on to the ladder of self-employment, not necessarily as farm managers? Does he agree that if the CLA and the NFU can agree on how to make more land available for letting to enable young people to get on to the ladder he should consult all other parties, including the Labour Party, to determine how the land can be brought on to the market for letting?

Mr. Wiggin

Rigid security of tenure, whether of housing accommodation or land, always means that the market for letting dries up. So many people will have to come to an agreement before the Government can intervene that I cannot promise that success will be achieved. Of course, we welcome the good news that has come from the CLA and NFU talks.

Mr. Freud

Will the hon. Gentleman state what prospects there are for young farmers who went into horticulture and were persuaded to convert their greenhouses to heating by gas and are consequently missing out on the oil subsidies?

Mr. Wiggin

I am aware of that problem. A total of 92 per cent. of glasshouse growers will have been helped by the Government's recent announcement, which had to take account of EEC rules. Only 1 per cent. of growers use gas. One is sympathetic to their problem, but perhaps the hon. Gentleman has not heard the welcome news that the Dutch have recently announced a small, but nevertheless significant, increase in the price of their gas.

Mr. Dormand

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Northern region, despite its heavy industry image, provides many jobs in farming, and that four of the five northern counties could be described as rural? Is he aware that there are fewer jobs available to young people in farming, as in every other industry, in the Northern region? What special provision is the Ministry making for the hardest-hit region in the country?

Mr. Wiggin

I do not believe that agriculture has been more exempt than any other industry from advances in technology, and the hon. Gentleman is correct when he says that employment in the industry has decreased. I have had the privilege of visiting the North on a number of occasions recently and I do not believe that it is less privileged. If the hon. Gentleman were to examine our record on hill farm subsidies he would find that we have consistently done more than any previous Government.

Mr. Pollock

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the great strengths of efficient farming in this country is the ability of a farmer to hand on a farm to his son? Does he agree that our capital tax structure must always take that fully into account?

Mr. Wiggin

Certainly, and it is one of the factors that my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer took into account when alleviating part of the capital transfer tax on let land, which is something that we have been urging for many years.

Mr. Mason

As the CLA and the NFU have been making representations to the Minister with a view to making future farm tenants less secure, which would necessitate a repeal of the tenancy laws in the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976, what has been the Government's reaction so far?

Mr. Wiggin

We have received nothing from the talks between the CLA and the NFU, and until we do I can make no comment.