§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessments he has made of the importance of hill farms to the rural economy in the uplands of Wales. [41489]
135W
§ Mr. Win GriffithsAn assessment of the importance of hill farming to the rural economy is contained in a report on "LFA Policy in Wales: A Review of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects of the HLCA Scheme" commissioned by the Welsh Office and published by the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies on 20 April 1998. The sheep and cattle sectors predominate in the less favoured areas of Wales and the report states that using 1991 estimates for every on-farm job in the sheep sector there are 0.36 jobs in other industries in Wales. The comparable figure in the cattle sector is 0.35 jobs.