HC Deb 29 June 1977 vol 934 cc271-2W
Mr. O'Halloran

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the operation of planning law regarding the sale and sub-division of agricultural land.

Mr. Guy Barnett

The development control system is concerned with the use of land, not with its ownership, and it is, therefore, not concerned with this matter. There is a power in the Agriculture Act 1947 to control the frag- mentation and sale of agricultural land, but it has never been exercised.