HC Deb 26 May 1978 vol 950 cc757-8W
Dr. Glyn

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people are directly employed by the Agricultural Development Advisory Service; and what is the average cost of each visit to an individual farmer.

Mr. Bishop

Agricultural Development and Advisory Service staff in post on 1st May 1978 totalled 5,438. The average cost of each ADAS visit to individual farmers could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Dr. Glyn

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many visits were made to farmers by the Agricultural Development Advisory Service in the course of the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Strang

Records are not maintained of the numbers of visits made to farmers by ADAS advisers and the cost of obtaining this information would be disproportionate. Visits form only part of the ADAS advisory effort: they can range from a short discussion to a complicated consultation and a numerical record would therefore not provide a useful account of the activity involved.