§ 68. Mr. Watkinsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the approximate losses of sheep and lambs arising from the severe weather conditions of last winter in Brecon and Radnor; what representations he has had about financial losses; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsSome special inquiries made in the first quarter of the year suggested that, in Brecon and Radnor as elsewhere, ewe losses among hill flocks had been rather above average, and that lamb losses almost certainly would be; but the extent cannot be assessed until we have the results of the 4th June census in about a month's time. Even so, it is not feasible to provide really reliable estimates, particularly for ewes, on a county basis. My right hon. Friend has received no individual representations about financial losses, but he took account of the 109W effects of the exceptionally hard winter when announcing on 3rd April an interim payment of the Hill Sheep Subsidy.