§ Mrs. Castleasked the Minister of Agriculture what capital expenditure has been approved by his Department during the past five years for the erection and equipment of heated glasshouses and cold stores, respectively.
Mr. T. WilliamsI regret that the returns available do not distinguish glasshouses from other farm buildings. Since my Department became responsible for the matter they have supported applications for building licences to provide packing and grading facilities and cold or gas storage on farms for some 2,560,000 bushels of apples and pears at an estimated cost of just under £2½million. This figure is exclusive of the cost of the actual plant and machinery but includes the cost of installing that plant. Separate figures for fruit cold stores are not available.