§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the number of new lettings of agricultural land that occurred in 1980 and 1981; and what are his projections for the number of agricultural lettings for 1990 and the year 2000;
(2) what is his latest assessment of the consequences of the substantial decline in the number of new agricultural lettings that is now occurring.
§ Mr. Peter Walker:There are no fully reliable statistics available of the total number of new lettings of agricultural land.
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§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he now anticipates introducing legislation on the lines of the National Farmers Union and Country Landowners Association joint submission made in 1981 regarding the method of reaching a fair rent for agricultural land.
§ Mr. Peter Walker:The Government are continuing to consider the timing of any future legislation on agricultural holdings.