§ Mr. Gowerasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated size of Welsh sheep flocks at the latest convenient date for which he has information; and what were the comparable figures for each of the previous five years.
§ Mr. George ThomasThe figures, which relate to total sheep and lambs returned in the June census on agricultural holdings in Wales exceeding one acre in extent, are as follows:
Average size of flock (per holding) 1963 234 1964 Not available 1965 1966 267 1967 272 1968* 310 1969 310 * In 1968, some 6,400 holdings in Wales with small acreage and negligible agricultural output were removed from the census records. It is estimated that there were some 15,500 sheep on 710 of these holdings, and if these had been added back into the census the average flock size in 1968 would have been 300.