§ Colonel Ropnerasked the Minister of Agriculture, in view of the arrangements made in the Finance Act, 1944, to free from taxation all expenditure both of a capital and revenue nature upon research; what steps are to be taken to encourage farmers to take advantage of this concession and to take more active interest in the development of co-operative research schemes.
Mr. HudsonI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 27th October, 1944, to my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Linstead). Contributions from the farming industry for agricultural research have not been lacking. Apart from individual contributions to agricultural research stations there have been collective contributions from a number of producers' organisations towards the cost of agricultural research schemes. This matter is kept under constant review.