HC Deb 16 February 1977 vol 926 cc260-1W
Mr. Weetch

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether there are any preventive restrictions on the purchase of farming land in Great Britain with regard to prospective foreign buyers;

(2) what countries in the EEC have restrictions on the purchase of farms and farm land as far as prospective British buyers are concerned.

Mr. Bishop

Under the terms of Article 52 of the Treaty of Rome member States are required not to apply different treatment to nationals of other member States wishing to establish themselves in their territory from that applied to their own nationals. There is no discrimination in Great Britain on grounds of nationality.

Mr. Radice

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he proposes to take to obtain information on the ownership of agricultural land in view of the recent documents by the Centre for Agricultural Strategy and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Mr. Strang

We are discussing with the Country Landowners Association, the National Farmers' Union and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors proposals for a pilot study to assess the feasibility of a full survey aimed at improving our statistics on agricultural land ownership.