HC Deb 18 January 1994 vol 235 c494W
Mr. Ainger

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers there are in Britain; and how many acres of land are farmed(a) in absolute terms and (b) as a percentage of the total land area.

1. Mr. Jack

The number of farmers, partners and directors working on agricultural holdings in the United Kingdom at 1 June 1993 was 278,700. The absolute area of land being farmed in the United Kingdom at 1 June 1993 was 45.7 million acres, which was about 77 per cent. of the total land area.

Notes:

SourceProvisional results from the 1993 June agricultural and horticultural census. Final results are expected to be published towards the end of January.

2. Estimates for minor holdings are included for England and Wales but not for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

3. Figures exclude the wives/husbands of farmers, partners and directors, even though they themselves may be partners or directors.

Mr. Ainger

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total of all subsidies paid to farmers in Britain in the most recent year for which figures are available(a) by the British Government and (b) by the European Union, in sterling terms; and if she will give the total for each subsidy.

Mr. Jack

Table 9.1 of "Agriculture in the United Kingdom: 1992"—pages 78–79—provides details of public expenditure on market support measures and on other grants and subsidies paid in the United Kingdom. Receipts from the European Union are set out at the foot of page 79. A copy has been deposited in the Library of the House of Commons.