§ 64. Mr. E. Fletcherasked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he is proposing to take with a view to bringing nonproductive common land into use.
§ Sir T. DugdaleI cannot add to the statement I made in the debate on 12th June. On that occasion, I said
At present I have power under the Defence Regulations to retain until December, 1954, possession of common land and other land requisitioned in the interests of food production. I propose to use that power wherever retention of such land can be justified in the national interest as a means of maintaining food production—but I do not underestimate the importance of the wider problem, and I am urgently considering the whole future of common land and how best the contribution that it can make to our national food supplies can be increased.