§ Mr. Maxwell-Hyslopasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the total of the annual cost of new farm machinery and the annual 103W depreciation on farm machinery, respectively, are computed in the annual price review.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesThe annual cost of new farm machinery is calculated as the cost to farmers at the farm-gate. The basic information for the calculation is derived from returns by manufacturers to the Ministry of Technology of the value of their deliveries to the home market, returns by importers to the Board of Trade, returns of new tractor registrations to the Ministry of Transport, statistics under the Investment Incentive Scheme, returns by distributors in the Census of Distribution, and other information from distributors. The annual depreciation on farm machinery is calculated by valuing the total numbers of machines as returned in the Agricultural Census at their farm-gate or replacement cost and dividing the total value by the estimated life of the machines.