Mr. Jim Callaghanasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action his Department has taken to prevent the loss of good agricultural land for urban or other development such as motorways or mineral extraction; and what has been the approximate average annual loss over the last 10 years.
§ Mr. WigginMy Department applies rigorously existing Government policy for the protection of agricultural land so that land of a higher quality is not taken for development where land of a lower quality is available and the amount of land taken is no greater than
292Wis reasonably required. The average annual loss of land from agricultural to all other uses in England and Wales in the period 1970 to 1980 was 23,000 hectares.