§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people in total were employed in agriculture in Berkshire for the years(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98 and (c) 1998–99. [108420]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 3 February 2000]: The information requested is provided in the table.
Labour force on main agricultural holdings: Berkshire Year Total labour force 1996 2,229 1997 2,162 1998 2,254 1999 2,107 Source:
Agricultural and Horticultural Census
In 1998 fundamental changes were introduced to the labour questions of the census. It appears that this change may have led to the recording of additional labour that were not previously included in the returns. Caution is therefore advised when comparing the 1998 and 1999 results with previous years.