§ 7. Miss Maynardasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in the current negotiations on agricultural workers' wages, information concerning the annual incomes of those farmers who employ labour will be made available to the chairman of the Agricultural Wages Board; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JoplingAlthough it was not possible to provide such information during the recent negotiations, as a result of current developments in processing the relevant data the information should be available in time for the next wage round.
§ Miss MaynardIs the Secretary of State aware that the National Farmers Union made a survey of farm incomes relating to farmers who employ labour, but was unwilling to give that information to the Agricultural Wages Board during the current wage negotiations?
§ Mr. JoplingAs the hon. Lady knows, what goes on in the business and meetings of the Agricultural Wages Board is not a matter for me, but I hope that it will be possible to provide that information to the Agricultural Wages Board for the next wage round. We are currently reviewing the analysis of the farm management survey, which would provide that information.
§ Sir John FarrWill my right hon. Friend confirm that the chairman would have available the detail relating to farm incomes in the appropriate year, and moreover that he would be aware that incomes off the farm declined by about 60 per cent. last year?
§ Mr. JoplingAs in the past, my Department has supplied the chairman and members of the Agricultural Wages Board with as much information as it is possible to give them, but, as I said, in this case considerable computer programming and other resources would have been needed to provide such information, and those resources were just not available at the time.
§ Mr. RandallI welcome what the Minister said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard), but does he agree that farm workers have been paid far too little for far too long for what are very high skills? Given the appalling situation that now exists, I hope that some positive steps will be taken to correct the situation. Will the Minister assure us that he will use his influence on the Agricultural Wages Board to make sure that in the end we have a much fairer deal for agricultural workers?
§ Mr. JoplingI think the hon. Gentleman will forgive me if I say that that is a rather surprising question, because the statutory minimum rates are a matter for the independent Agricultural Wages Board. They are not a matter for Ministers. As to using my influence, I think that in certain circumstances the hon. Gentleman would raise the roof were I to attempt to do so. I do not intend so to do.