§ 41. Ms Richardsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce proposals in the Agricultural Holdings Bill [Lords] to enable women to succeed more easily to the tenancy of agricultural holdings.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe purpose of the Agricultural Holdings Bill is to make more tenancies available for letting.
The Bill does, however, contain a provision which will make it easier for a widow to succeed to a tenancy held by her husband. Currently, in order to be eligible to 326W succeed, a widow must, like any other applicant, demonstrate that she had derived her principal source of livelihood, during the seven years prior to the death of the tenant, from her agricultural work on the holding. Clause 3 of the Bill will change this rule so that under the eligibility rules the livelihood may be derived from the work carried out either by the wife or the deceased, or both.