HC Deb 25 October 1990 vol 178 c288W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the income of farmers in Wales accrued from non-farming sources for each of the past 10 years for which records are available.

Mr. David Hunt

Based on the Inland Revenue survey of personal incomes, details of which are only readily available for the years 1983–84 to 1986–87, the percentage of the income of farmers in Wales which accrued from non-farming sources for each of the four years was as follows:

Year Percentage of income from non-farming sources
1983–84 42
1984–85 41
1985–86 37
1986–87 50

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the average income of farmers in Wales in each of the past eight years for which records are available, expressed as a percentage of each year's average manual worker's earnings in Wales.

Mr. David Hunt

Informattion on Welsh farmers' incomes is based on the results of the Inland Revenue survey of personal incomes and relates to incomes assessed for tax of individuals registered as having a self-employed income from agriculture and horticulture as their main or principal other source of self-employment income. Separate figures for Wales are not readily available prior to 1983–84, and the latest results of the survey are for the year 1986–87.

The average earnings of manual workers in Wales are derived from the Department of Employment new earnings survey.

The two series are not strictly comparable, there being conceptual differences in the way income and earnings are calculated.

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