HC Deb 24 May 1973 vol 857 cc654-5
17. Mr. Deakins

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the additional cost to United Kingdom balance of payments by 1st January 1978 of the increased EEC agricultural prices agreed recently.

Mr. Patrick Jenkin

Very small.

Mr. Deakins

Is the hon. Gentleman any longer worried about the balance of payments costs of our entry into the EEC, both during and after the transitional period?

Mr. Jenkin

That goes much wider than the Question, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that the effects upon our balance of payments of the settlement reached by the Council of Agricultural Ministers earlier this month—in which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture played such a notable part —will be very small.

Mr. John E. B. Hill

Does not my hon. Friend agree that whatever the effects of the recent settlement may be on the balance of payments in 1978, a much greater effect will be had by the relative expansion of British agriculture?

Mr. Jenkin

I entirely agree.

Mr. Maclennan

Will the Government publish as a Green Paper for discussion their proposals for the reform of agricultural policy in the EEC prior to the Commission's publication of its document in October?

Mr. Jenkin

That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture.