§ Lieut. - Colonel WINDSOR - CLIVEasked the Minister of Agriculture what is the number and the total acreage of smallholdings in Shropshire which are administered directly by the Ministry of Agriculture and by the county council, respectively; what is the average rent per acre of smallholdings in each category; and when these rents were last revised?
§ Dr. ADDISONThe number of small holdings in Shropshire which are administered by the county council is 286, with a total area of 6,697 acres. The average rent of the holdings, including the rent of the houses and buildings with which the majority thereof are equipped, is a little under £2 12s. 0d. per acre. The last general revision of these rents took place in 1925, but individual rents have been revised from time to time since that date where revision was considered desirable. There are no small holdings in the county administered directly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, but the above figures include an estate of 1,251 acres which2102W was originally established by the Ministry under the Small Holdings Colonies Acts, and was transferred to the county council in 1926. The number of tenants on this estate is 41, and the rents average £1 19s. 6d. per acre.