§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will given an estimate of the number of farmworkers whose employment will be affected by participation by their employers or others in the set-aside scheme; and if he will take any action either to compensate those workers or to provide additional employment in the areas concerned.
§ Mr. RyderI am not yet in a position to estimate the employment effects of set-aside, which has only recently come into operation, but it offers a wide range of alternative land uses which should create new employment opportunities in the countryside, as will other recent Government initiatives such as the farm woodlands678W scheme and the farm diversification grant scheme. I do not therefore accept that there will be a net reduction in employment.