§ Mr. Alportasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will make a statement regarding damage to crops in East Essex resulting from bad weather; and whether he is satisfied that sufficient labour is available to harvest the crops which have suffered from it.
§ Sir T. DugdaleI regret that the weather has injured crops in East Essex, as elsewhere. I understand, however, that severe crop damage in East Essex is localised, and amounts to a very small proportion of the total acreage. There is some shortage of farm labour in that part of the county, but I have no reason to suppose that the crops will not be gathered in even though I am afraid that the harvest is bound to be troublesome.