§ Mr. MacArthurasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the average profit earned by hill farms in Scotland in each of the last three years ; what were the extremes of profit and loss ; and what proportion of profit was represented by grants.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe estimated average net income for Scottish hill sheep farms was £1,265 in 1967–68, £1,558 in 1968–69 and £1,163 in 1969–70, and for upland rearing farms £1,186, £1,822 and £1,460 respectively. These figures are derived from a sample of farm accounts provided by the Agricultural Colleges which showed a range extending from losses of more than £400 to incomes of over £4,000 on both types during the period. The estimated proportion of net income accounted for by production grants was 129 per cent. in 1967–68, 121 per cent. in 1968–69 and 163 per cent. in 1967–70 for hill sheep farms and 150 per cent., 107 per cent., and 143 per cent. for upland rearing farms.