§ Mr. Pymasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list his Department's estimate of the damage inflicted on the glasshouse sector of horticulture by the recent storm (a) by counties, (b) for each land settlement association and (c) in total.
§ Mr. StrangIt is difficult to put a precise value on the damage sustained by glasshouses, including plastic structures, during the recent storm. About 25 acres of glass—about ½ per cent. of the total—were demolished, mainly in the West Midlands, East Anglia and the Lea Valley. There was, in addition, less severe damage to glass in these and other areas. Most of the glass demolished was old, but the current cost of replacing 25 acres with modern glass would be up to £1 million.
Some 100 acres of plastic structures, about one-third of the national acreage, were damaged. The estimated insured value of the damage sustained on Land Settlement Association Estates is as follows:
£'000 Foxash … 15 Fen Drayton … 12 Abington … 8 Chawston … 8 Potton … 5 Fulney … 40 Newbourn … 11 Snaith … 11 Newent … 14 Sidlesham … 2 Total LSA … 126