asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made in training ex-Servicemen for work on the land; and what plans he has for enabling those who are successful and suitable to become smallholders.

3,958 men and women released from war service are undergoing training in agriculture or horticulture, or have completed such training, under the Vocational Training Scheme. Of this number 673 have so far taken advantage of the facilities for more advanced training offered by the Scheme. In reply to the second part of the Question, the Government's smallholdings policy aims at the provision of holdings for experienced agricultural workers. In general ex-Servicemen who have undergone agricultural training will need to widen their experience by taking employment in agriculture before they will become eligible for a statutory smallholding.

Is not 3,000 odd an extraordinary number of ex-Servicemen to be trained for the land especially when the need is so very great?

I think so.

Does the last part of the Minister s answer mean that ex-Servicemen are not going to have any preference in acquiring smallholdings?

The answer to the last part of the Question is, "No, Sir," because the scheme is designed largely for experienced agricultural workers who were compelled to remain in agriculture whatever their personal desires may have been.