§ 31. Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will commission and publish a Departmental study on the cost/benefit effectiveness of the present system of Exchequer financed agricultural support assuming alternatively a fixed and floating exchange rate.
§ Mr. John MackieNo, Sir.
§ Mr. BiffenDoes not the Parliamentary Secretary appreciate that considerable sums of public money are voted for Exchequer agricultural price support and it would be highly desirable if a cost/benefit exercise were carried out to determine if these are providing value for money, both for the taxpayer and for the agriculturist? If his Department will not conduct this exercise, is not this exactly the type of subject which is suitable for a Select Committee on Agriculture?
§ Mr. MackieI should hate to cross swords with the hon. Gentleman on questions of exchange rates and a floating £, 1397 because my knowledge of these questions is not very great. But any study of the type the hon. Gentleman suggests would depend greatly on the limits within which the exchange value of the £ was assumed to float. If it could float considerably either way, the study would not be very worth-while.