HC Deb 04 July 1974 vol 876 cc590-2
19. Mr. Marten

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for further support for British agriculture.

Mr. Peart

I dealt with this subject at some length in my statements in the House on 19th and 26th June and I have nothing further to add at present.

Mr. Marten

Will the Minister go a little further than he has gone so far this afternoon in answering Questions about support for beef? If, when he gets to Brussels and asks the Commission whether he can do what he says he wants to do with the £18, the Commission says, "No", will he give the House an assurance that he will come back and do what he thinks is right? If he wants a precedent for that, will he read last night's debate, in which his right hon. Friend the Paymaster-General accepted a document from the EEC but said that if the situation changed we in this country would do what we liked?

Mr. Peart

The hon. Gentleman must appreciate that I have to go to Brussels. I have to argue my case in Brussels. As I said in reply to a similar Question, I cannot indulge in hypothetics. If I do not get what I think is right for the livestock industry I shall report back to my colleagues and we shall discuss what action to take.

Mr. Jay

As my right hon. Friend thinks that for beef guaranteed prices is a better policy than intervention buying, does not he think the same about other products as well?

Mr. Peart

Not exactly. In certain circumstances support buying of home products—for example, potatoes—can be reasonable, but for beef I believe that it is a costly process that in the end does not benefit the producer or the consumer.

Mr. Jopling

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the urgent need for further support for the pig industry? Has he forgotten that the 50p per score subsidy has less than two months to run and that producers cannot possibly plan for the autumn on this hand-to-mouth basis? Is he aware that he must give that part of the industry long-term guarantees so that future supplies can be assured?

Mr. Peart

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I obtained permission to introduce a subsidy—if I may use the word "permission"—when I first went to Brussels. I then realised that many hon. Members wished me to continue the subsidy. I went again to Europe and asked that I should be able to do so, and we did it. There is a lot of money involved—£30 million. I hope that along with the reduction in the cost of feeding stuffs the situation will improve. Some people have asked me to think in terms of a feed-cost formula, but as the hon. Gentleman knows, it was his administration which stopped it.

Mr. Skinner

Will my right hon. Friend tell me why it is that if he disagrees with the Common Market policy he has to go to Brussels? Would it not be more sensible to send the Common Market a letter indicating precisely what the problem is with the British agricultural industry—a problem created by the previous Government—telling it that we shall act unilaterally, that we are prepared to read all the comments that it might make but that those comments will not make any difference to our attitude?

Mr. Peart

My hon. Friend knows that we are bound by treaty—

Mr. Skinner

No.

Mr. Peart

It is all very well my hon. Friend's saying, "No". Perhaps he will listen. My hon. Friend was, like myself, a partner to an election manifesto, which I think was a good one. We said that we would renegotiate. It is my task, as a responsible Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to renegotiate the terms of the common agricultural policy. I shall consider at the end of the day whether the results are effective. It will then be for my Government and for the British people to judge.

Forward to