Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Room 312, Foss House
Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green
York YO1 7PX
Telephone 01904 456406
Website www.defra.gov.uk
Mr Jack Elliot
Our ref: RFI 4758
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
11 May 2012
Dear Mr Elliot
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: AGRICULTURAL WEALTH
Thank you for your request for information on which we received on 21 April 2012 about
Agricultural Wealth. We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).
Taking your questions in the order you have raised them
1. How much are agricultural workers paid nationally?
Data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings run by the Office for National Statistics
shows that in 2011 for UK farm workers received a median pay (excluding overtime) of £7.75
per hour. This figure is representative of the ordinary farm workers not those in fully skilled and
management positions.
2. What is the breakdown of pay for agricultural workers by region?
The pay for agricultural workers varies with region. Within England were paid most in the
South West (£8.31/hr) and least in the West Midlands (£7.41/hr).
Full details can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
Farming Statistics contact:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
3. Which is the poorest village in the country?
Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are a census-based geography designed to improve the
reporting of small area statistics. There are around 32,000 LSOAs in England. Poverty can be
measured for these areas by using the income domain of the indices of deprivation (DCLG,
2010). This ranks all LSOAs in the country from ‘most income deprived’ to ‘least income
deprived’. This index can be combined with the rural-urban definition, which identifies rural
areas as towns, villages or hamlets.
Using this approach, the most deprived village area in England is that containing the LSOA
with the code E01007511. This is part of a village in Toll Bar in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
4. In which area of the country is poverty amongst rural areas the highest?
Using the indices of deprivation the rural area ranked as most highly income deprived is in
Tendring in Essex in the East of England.
5. In what area of the country is rural affluence most focused?
According to the indices of deprivation the rural area ranked as least income deprived is in
Forest Heath in Suffolk in the East of England.
Notes:
Though the subject of this FoI request was ‘agricultural wages’, questions 3-5 refer to rural areas.
It should be noted that agriculture makes up on a very small part of the rural economy (for example
around 2% of rural Gross Value Added comes from agriculture, forestry and fishing). For further
information see
http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13642-rural-digest-2012.pdf. Index of Deprivation, 2010 at lower super output area level (income domain). Department for
Communities and Local Government:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/indices2010
Rural-urban definition at lower super output area level, 2004. Office for National Statistics
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/products/area-classifications/rural-urban-
definition-and-la/rural-urban-definition--england-and-wales-/index.html
Rural statistics contact:
xxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
In keeping with the spirit and effect of the FOIA, all information is assumed to be releasable to the
public unless exempt. Therefore, the information released to you may now be published on our
website together with any related information that will provide a key to its wider context.
I attach Annex A, which explains the copyright that applies to the information being released to
you.
I also attach Annex B giving contact details should you be unhappy with the service you have
received.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.
Yours sincerely
Martin Fowell
Dr Martin Fowell
Direct Line 01904 456406
Email
xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Annex A
Copyright
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to use it for
your own purposes, including for private study and non-commercial research, and for any other
purpose authorised by an exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs or
logos) can be also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news reporting.
Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the
copyright holder.
Most documents produced by Defra will be protected by Crown Copyright. Most Crown copyright
information can be re-used under the
Open Government Licence. For information about the OGL
and about re-using Crown Copyright information plea
se see The National Archives website. Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information about obtaining
permission from a third party see the
Intellectual Property Office’s website.
_________________________________________
Annex B
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request you may make a
complaint or appeal against our decision within 40 working days of the date of this letter. Please
write to Brendan Walsh, Head of Defra’s Information Rights Team at Area1B, Ergon House,
Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AL, (email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx) and he will
arrange for an internal review of your case. Details of Defra’s complaints procedure are on our
website. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to
the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please note that generally the Information
Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted Defra’s own complaints
procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF