§ Mr. PIELOUasked the Minister of Agriculture the total number of ex-service men that have been settled in holdings by the county councils throughout England and Wales, and the number who have left holdings and the cause of leaving?
§ Mr. BUXTONUp to the 16th January last, the number of ex-service men who had been settled on small holdings by county councils and councils of county boroughs in England and Wales amounted to 19,195, of whom 2,576 had left their holdings for all reasons. A number of these men have left to take larger holdings, or for reasons which indicate that they cannot be regarded as failures. The latest information with regard to the number of failures amongst ex-service smallholders is contained in a Report prepared by the Ministry on 16th April, 1923, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Member. It will be seen from this1344W Report that up to Lady Day last the number of failures in England and Wales amounted to 6.5 per cent, of the total number settled.