HC Deb 09 February 2000 vol 344 c203W
Mrs. May

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people in total were employed in agriculture in Berkshire for the years(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98 and (c) 1998–99. [108420]

Ms Quin

[holding answer 3 February 2000]: The information requested is provided in the table.

Labour force on main agricultural holdings: Berkshire
Year Total labour force
1996 2,229
1997 2,162
1998 2,254
1999 2,107

Source:

Agricultural and Horticultural Census

In 1998 fundamental changes were introduced to the labour questions of the census. It appears that this change may have led to the recording of additional labour that were not previously included in the returns. Caution is therefore advised when comparing the 1998 and 1999 results with previous years.