§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of farm land in(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland have been bought in each of the last five years for which figures are available with funds released by roll-over relief. [71161]
§ Mr. RookerI regret that the information requested is not available. The data collected on agricultural land transactions do not identify the source of funding for land purchased. The estimated total area of agricultural land sold over the last five years for which figures are available are as follows:
Hectare England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 1993 146,032 30,639 16,811 4,721 1994 163,021 27,149 13,836 4,605 1995 156,785 17,202 10,735 4,050 1996 214,386 22,506 17,232 3,425 1997 200,695 33,795 12,824 2,912 In Great Britain sales of less than 5 hectares are excluded, and in Northern Ireland sales of less than 2 hectares are excluded. In Scotland the series excludes sales of whole estates and inter-family sales. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland there is a delay between the date of sale and the inclusion in the analysis whereas for Scotland the analysis is based on the date of sale and is subject to retrospective revision.