HC Deb 20 May 1974 vol 874 cc24-5
24 . Mr. Marquand

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she has any plans to attend a meeting of the EEC Council of Ministers.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

I have no plans to do so at present.

Mr. Marquand

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that if she were to go to the Council of Ministers one of the things she would want to do would be to ensure that this country continued to have access to EEC wheat, which is now very much cheaper than wheat from non-EEC sources? Can she give us an estimate of what would happen to bread prices in this country if we did not have access to EEC wheat at the present time?

Mrs. Williams

The price of soft wheat from the EEC is about two-thirds of the world price, which is based on hard wheat. It is also true that there are variations in respect of other foods, both favourable and unfavourable to the EEC.

Mr. Gorst

Can the right hon. Lady tell us on what prices she would be authorised to speak for this country if she were to visit the other EEC countries?

Mrs. Williams

The Community deals not with prices but with consumer protection. If I were to go to the Community, it would be on that matter.