§ Sir Clive Bossomasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farm holdings have been amalgamated in pursuance of his present policy thereon; and how much compensation has been paid out for such amalgamations.
§ Mr. John MackieIn England and Wales we have approved eight proposed amalgamations, involving 14 outgoers, 245W between 31st October, 1967 when the Farm Structure Schemes started and 30th April, 1968. One outgoer's grant of £1,364 has been paid and these approvals are expected to result in the payment to outgoers of a further £10,863 in grants and £1,980 a year in annuities. We are now considering over 500 applications from intending amalgamators and nearly 700 applications from prospective out-goers.
In Northern Ireland in the same period 14 amalgamations have been approved which are expected to result in outgoers' grants of £3,400 and annuities of £1,920 a year.
In addition to these payments to out-goers, there will be grants to help the amalgamators meet the incidental expenses of amalgamation and the cost of remodelling works. These are estimated to amount to £29,636 in England and Wales and £21,455 in Northern Ireland in respect of the amalgamations approved in the first six months of the Schemes.