§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of self-employed farmers at appropriate periods from 1950 until the latest available date; and if he will provide details of average ages of such farmers at the given dates.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownI regret that none of this information is available for the period before 1967. The number of farmers working full-time or part-time on their holdings was 29,000 in 1972 and 24,000 in 1977.
The age distribution of farm occupiers drawn from sample surveys for 1967–68 and 1975 is shown below:
per cent. of population Age group 1967–68 1975 Under 34 9 8 35–44 17 20 45–64 54 54 Over 65 20 18 100 100