§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the agricultural land area(a) inside and (b) outside the less-favoured areas in England is rented.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardI regret that the information is not available.
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§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the average age of farmers is in(a) the English less-favoured areas and (b) the equivalent of the less-favoured areas in each EC member state.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe farm structure survey contains information on the age of the holder of the farm by age band. The table provides estimates of the average age of holder based on analysis of this age band data for farms which are classified as being wholly or mainly in the less favoured areas.
Estimated average age of holder of farms wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas in 19871 Member state Estimated average age of holder Belgium 50 Germany 48 Greece 56 Spain 56 France 52 Ireland 54 Italy 56 Luxembourg 51 Portugal 57 United Kingdom (1990) 53 England (1990) 52 1 The holder of the farm is the person legally or economically responsible for the holding.
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the ratio of tenant farmers to owner-occupier farmers(a) inside and (b) outside the English less-favoured areas.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe table shows the proportion of holdings in England which are wholly owner occupied, rented or are partly owner and partly rented for those holdings which are wholly or mainly in the less favoured area or wholly or mainly outside the LFA.
Proportion of holdings in England by type of tenure Wholly owner occupied Percentage Wholly rented Percentage Part owned and part rented Percentage Holdings wholly or mainly in the LFA 60.3 18.1 21.6 Holdings wholly or mainly outside the LFA 63.7 15.6 20.7