HC Deb 19 June 1979 vol 968 cc464-5W
Mr. Geraint Howells

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many full and part-time workers have left the agriculture industry in Scotland during the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Younger

I regret that information relating to the gross outflow of workers from agriculture is not available.

Between June 1968 and June 1978, the number of full-time agricultural workers fell by 10,400 while the number of part-time workers increased by 1,202, giving a net recorded loss of 9,198 over the period.

The rate of net loss has been much lower in the 1970s than in the 1960s, and has been particularly low over the past few years.