Under section 59 of the Agriculture Act 1970, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is required to present an annual report to Parliament summarising for each financial year the proceedings of local authorities in relation to smallholdings in England.
This continues the similar obligations imposed on the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Agriculture Act 1947.
The report, for the year 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, is the sixty third annual report.