§ 1988. Mr. FavellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much farmland was released for private housing in(a) 1968, (b) 1978 and (c)
§ Mr. ChopeThe information requested is not available. I gave my hon. Friend some MAFF data for 1958–68, 1968–78 and 1978–85 in my answer to him on 14 December. My Department's land use change data, which are not comparable with the MAFF series, show that in 1985–87 the average annual area of land recorded by the Ordnance Survey as changing from agricultural to urban use in England was around 5,500 hectares, of which around 3,400 hectares were for residential use. Figures for 1988 will be published later this year.