§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on (a) the average size of sheep flocks in Wales and (b) comparable sheep flocks in the rest of the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsThe information is as follows:(a) The average size of sheep flocks1 in Wales in recent years was as follows:
Size 1983 526 1984 540 1985 541 1986 2554 SourceJune agricultural census, main holdings only.
(b) The average size of sheep flocks1 in the countries in the European Economic Community in 1983, the latest year for which data are available, are as follows:
Size Belgium 15 Denmark 14 France 66 Greece 37 Ireland 92 Italy 38 Luxembourg 13 Netherlands 38 United Kingdom 397 West Germany 25 Average of the 10 countries 89 SourceEEC Farm Structure Survey published in "Farm Structure 1983: Main Results".
1 A flock is the number of sheep on a farm. Flocks include all sheep and lambs.
2 Provisional.