QUESTIONNAIRE ON LAND REDISTRIBUTION
70. The Falkland Islands Government sent a questionnaire in the autumn to 300 workers in the agricultural sector asking whether and where they would like to buy land on the Islands. By the closing date of 28 February, only 59 Islanders had replied, all expressing interest in acquiring land.
TWO OUT OF 3 ISLANDERS ALLEGEDLY WANT TO BUY LAND
71. This claim by BBC TV's Panorama programme on 14 February was misleading. The closing date for the questionnaire on land ownership sent to Falkland Islanders in the agricultural sector was 28 February. By the end of January, when the Panorama team visited the Islands, only 53 completed questionnaires out of 300 had been returned. As we now know, a total of 59 was eventually returned. This would suggest a proportion nearer to 1 in 5.
GOVERNMENT POLICY ON TRANSFER OF LAND
72.
As my rt hon Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary said on 8 December, the Government favours a gradualist approach to land redistribution under the auspices of the Falkland Islands Development Corporation, in keeping with the capacity of the Islands' existing agricultural population and consistent with realistic immigration prospects. The limited response to the recent questionnaire would seem to bear out the Government's view.
DO ISLANDERS AGREE WITH THIS?
73.
The Civil Commissioner, in his address to the Islands' Legislative Council on 16 December 1982, explained that HMG considered that a gradual approach to land redistribution was the best course. Sir Rex Hunt also said that, if the results of the questionnaire showed that the demand for land exceeded the amount offered for sale on the open market, the Council would have to reconsider the position. The Civil Commissioner's address was endorsed unanimously.
GOVERNMENT MONEY FOR LARGE-SCALE LAND TAKE-OVER IF IT WERE PROVEN THAT THE ISLANDERS WANTED TO BUY IT?
74. The question is hypothetical. We and the Falkland Islands Government are considering the result of the enquiry, but at first sight it would appear to confirm the Government's view that a gradual approach to land reform is the most appropriate.
RIGHT OF COMPULSORY PURCHASE
75. The Falkland Islands Ordinance gives the Civil Commissioner power to acquire compulsorily any land for a public purpose, which includes any purpose 'connected with or ancillary to the public interest'. If it were proposed to acquire land compulsorily for the purpose of immediate transfer to private individuals, further legisltation might be required. This is being looked into.