Mr. Robert Atkinsasked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, what representations have been made by the Church Commissioners to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in connection with the Agricultural Holdings Bill [Lords].
Sir William van StraubenzeeThe First Church Estates Commissioner wrote to the Minister on 26 August 1983
While welcoming many of the changes included in the Bill, the Commissioners are urging the Minister to reconsider that part of the Bill that creates a new formula for settling farm rents, which they believe to be imprecise and extremely complicated, in place of the well tried existing system based on open market value. With their long experience in the ownership of over 500 farms, the Commissioners believe that the proposed formula cannot achieve the declared objective of increasing the number of farms available for letting.