§ Mr. Scottasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will list the properties and land owned, leased or rented by his Department, the use to which each property or piece of land is put and whether it is at present occupied or unoccupied.
§ Mr. MackieThe following is a list of land owned or leased by my Department at 1st April, 1969, occupied for agricultural purposes:
acres Land held by the Minister for the purpose of statutory smallholdings: (i) 3 Farm Settlements 7,183 (ii) 11 Estates managed by the Land Settlement Association Ltd. 4,429 Orchards managed by the Land Settlement Association Ltd. 903 Land originally derelict and in multiple ownership, requisition for war-time food production and subsequently acquired under Section 85 of the Agriculture Act, 1947 (now in 51 holdings) 3,777 Agricultural residues of acquisitions by Forestry Commission, purchased out of Forestry Fund (79 holdings) 29,855 Ex—L.S.A. Estates (76 holdings) 907 Ex-Farm Settlement (6 holdings) 93 Laxton Estate acquired under Section 82 of the Agriculture Act, 1947 (24 holdings) 1,772 Other land acquired under Sections 82/85 of the Agriculture Act, 1947 (34 holdings) 2,133 Other land acquired by the Minister (3 holdings) 162 Experimental Husbandry Farms (13) 12,696 Experimental Horticulture Stations (11) 1,273 This list excludes the Royal Botanical Gardens and offices, domestic properties and laboratories used for the Department's food, fisheries, veterinary, etc., services throughout England and Wales, for which no central register exists.
"Occupied" land includes land let to tenants and land occupied by the Department or its agents for the purposes of smallholdings, experimental farming and horticulture—including roads, woodland and small areas of incidental ancillary land.