Common Agricultural Policy (Hansard, 9 December 1976)

§ 5. Mr. Marten
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on reform of the common agricultural policy.

22. Mr. loan Evans
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he intends to make to end or amend the operation of the EEC common agricultural policy.

§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. John Silkin)
As stated in the Gracious Speech, the Government will seek further improvements in the operation of the common agricultural policy.

§ Mr. Marten
That is all very well, but did the Minister read Hansard of 1st December, when, in answer to one of my questions, the Prime Minister told me that one of the problems in reforming the common agricultural policy was the vested interest of the various countries of the Common Market? As the common agricultural policy must now be one of the longest running farces in Europe, have the Government any positive proposals for its reform? If they have not and cannot overcome these vested interests, would it not be better to have a British national agricultural policy?

§ Mr. Silkin
It may just be conceivable that one may get a British national policy even inside the common agricultural policy. I said that Her Majesty's Government would be working for improvements, but to ask me to abolish the common agricultural policy is rather to overburden a hard-working Minister.
What I would say is that regardless of—or perhaps even because of—vested interests, our own not least, it should be possible to make some difference, for example, to support prices and to the structural surpluses. It should also be possible to make a considerable inroad into the objective of taking the social funds, which go into the price of food and into farm prices, out of the farm budget and putting them where they belong, which is into national social exchequers.

§ Mr. Ioan Evans
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the fight that he is putting up in the EEC in defending the interests of British consumers, but does he realise that there is now widespread discontent about the way in which the common agricultural policy is operating? Will he tell the House something of the discussions that he had with the Trades Union Congress yesterday in reference to the CAP?

§ Mr. Silkin
I think that the TUC has already made quite a reasonable comment on our very useful discussions. We did not find ourselves totally in disagreement in principle. We were all certain that there should be certain major improvements in the common agricultural policy. I outlined the major ones a few months ago.

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
I accept that the Minister is doing his best for the consumer, but does he not realise that while he is doing that he is also clobbering several sections of the farming industry? The right hon. Gentleman has just heard about the difficulties in the pig industry. That is not the only industry in difficulty at the moment. While he is bending his mind to improving the CAP—which can be improved, and needs it—will he accept that the various proposals put forward by Commissioner Lardinois for rectifying surpluses should be accepted in principle?

§ Mr. Silkin
We have had quite a lot of discussion already about the pigmeat 607 industry. If the hon. Gentleman wishes to return to it, I should like to say that I negotiated a very small change in those MCAs; but considerably more than has ever been negotiated before.
I put to the hon. Gentleman and to the House what seems to me to be a very important point. We get a butter mountain, or whatever it may be, because the consumer cannot afford to pay the price. It is as simple as that. There are three positive examples of that in British agriculture. The first is that the high price of sugar two years ago caused a drop in consumption from which we have not fully recovered. The second is that there was an increase in the price of milk a little while ago, and, as Sir James Barker pointed out, there was a 2½ per cent. drop in the consumption of milk, which has only just been recovered. Finally, when potatoes were at their highest price at the beginning of this year there was a 25 per cent. drop in consumption.

§ Mr. Jay
As my right hon. Friend is so much more hard-working on this issue than was any of his predecessors on the Opposition Benches, will he tell us a little more precisely about the improvements in the CAP for which the Government are working?

§ Mr. Silkin
As I said a moment ago, the first thing we must do is stop insane price increases. Secondly, we must put an end to the structural surpluses. Thirdly, we must work to remove from the farm budget social measures, which should be the responsibility of individual Governments.

§ Mr. Peyton
Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will explain what he means by insane price increases? Does he mean to go on from that to say that he is in some way inhibited from seeing producers actually recover the costs of production?

§ Mr. Silkin
I am glad to have the opportunity to explain. I mean that we spend far too much of the Community's resources on subsidising inefficient foreign farmers when, for example, the efficient British industry, equipped with the most modern machinery—that means investment aids, and not, as in the proposed milk package, banning investment aids for three years—is capable of producing more effectively and more cheaply. If 608 that does not benefit the consumer, I do not know what does.