§ Mr. Remnantasked the Paymaster-General what progress has been made in bringing main electricity supplies to farms and village communities in each year since 1951.
§ Sir I. HorobinThe number of farms and other rural premises connected in England and Wales in each year since 1951 was:—
Year ended 31st March Farms Other Rural Premises 1952 … … … 9,129 * 1953 … … … 9,702 * 1954 … … … 11,945 63,000 1955 … … … 13,840 57,000 1956 … … … 14,666 55,000 1957 … … … 13,135 45,000 1958 … … … 12,000 * (provisional) * Not available. In 1953 the electricity boards undertook a ten-year programme of rural electrification, with the object of connecting 85 per cent. of the farms in England and Wales and a higher proportion of other rural premises by 1963.
65WThe programme is already six months ahead of schedule and should be completed as originally planned by 1963. The contribution of individual area boards towards the national total will, of course, depend upon the circumstances of their respective areas.
The fall in the total number of connections in the last two years was to be expected because the most accessible farms had been connected first and, as the distance of the remaining farms from the supply mains increases, the difficulty and cost of each connection becomes greater.