§ Mr. Hopkinasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give the reasons for the cancellation of grants for the Livestock Improvement Scheme; and when these grants will be renewed?
§ Sir R. Dorman-SmithThe decision to suspend the making of fresh grants during the war was reached partly on administrative grounds and partly for reasons of economy. Although these grants serve an eminently useful purpose, their maintenance cannot be justified as an essential service in a time of emergency. The question of resuming the grants will be considered at the end of the war.
§ Mr. Hopkinasked the Minister of Agriculture whether the scheme for attested herds will be continued for another year to allow those farmers to come into the scheme in districts such as Carmarthenshire where there are now almost 100 per cent. attested herds?
§ Sir R. Dorman-SmithNo, Sir. I would, however, point out that notwithstanding
1778Wthe decision not to accept fresh applications for entry into the Attested Herds Scheme, the large number of herds in respect of which application under the scheme had been made before the outbreak of war and which were then undergoing or awaiting official or assisted tests under the scheme, will, if they qualify, be attested in the course of the next six months. In addition to the 2,500 herds at present attested in Carmarthenshire, there are 936 such supervised herds under test; together these represent approximately 60 per cent. of the cattle population of the county.