asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many farmers have been the subject of receiving orders in Scotland, England and Wales, respectively, for each of the last 10 years; and whether he can provide this information for the first quarter of 1975.

The numbers of receiving orders and orders of administration, under Section 130 of the Bankruptcy Act 1914, made in England and Wales, and of sequestration orders made in Scotland, against farmers, are as follows:

	England and Wales	Scotland
1965	187	7
1966	204	9
1967	205	10
1968	156	8
1969	197	10
1970	200	5
1971	172	3
1972	102	6
1973	69	5
1974	87	5
First quarter of 1975 (provisional)	30	nil
	1,609	68

Statistics and other information relating to bankruptcies generally in England and Wales, including a full classification by trades, are contained in the Bankruptcy General Annual Reports for 1974 and previous years, copies of which are in the Library. An article covering insolvencies in England and Wales up to the end of the second quarter of 1975 appears in "