§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many lowland sheep farmers in each of the Welsh counties have 500 breeding ewes or over; and what were the corresponding figures for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe number of holdings outside the less favourable areas with 500 breeding ewes or over is shown in the following table:
239W
At June: 1986 1987 1988 Powys 13 13 4 Gwynedd 40 40 41 Dyfed 22 27 28 Clwyd 35 34 33 South Glamorgan 7 6 9 Mid Glamorgan 3 4 5 West Glamorgan 3 4 3 Gwent 15 17 17
1 Where fewer than 3 holdings are involved the precise number has been withheld in order to protect individual farmers' confidentiality. Corresponding figures for earlier years are not available.
§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on(a) the average size of sheep flocks in Wales and (b) comparable sheep flocks in the rest of the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Walker(a) At June 1988 the average size of a sheep flock in Wales was 587 (head).
(b) the latest comparable information available is in respect of 1985 and is shown in the following table:
Average size of sheep flock Country Number Wales 540 United Kingdom 404 Belgium 18 Denmark 16 Federal Republic of Germany 27 Greece 38 France 69 Ireland 91 Italy 46 Luxembourg 18 Netherlands 41 Europe (10) 94