§ 149. Mr. Stubbsasked the Minister of Agriculture the number of persons employed in agriculture in September, 1939, and in September, 1946, including prisoners of war; and what the available manpower will be after the prisoners of war have returned home.
§ Mr. CollickComparative figures for September, 1939, and September, 1946, are not available, but the number of workers recorded in the Agricultural Returns for England and Wales in June, 1939, and June, 1946, is shown in the table below.
Number of Workers (000). June, 1939. June, 1946. Regular workers Male 470.8 478.6 Female 40.3 59.6 Women's Land Army — 23.1 Prisoners of War — 82.7 Casual Workers Male 63.3 81.5 Female 32.7 49.6 Total 607.1 775.2 It is not possible at this stage to give details of what the manpower in agriculture will be, and how it will be made up, when the German prisoners have been repatriated, but the Government are fully aware of the need for the recruitment of more regular farm workers.