HC Deb 29 January 1976 vol 904 cc661-3
13. Mr. Costain

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to assess the degree of damage sustained to glasshouses during the storms on 2nd and 3rd January 1976.

Mr. Strang

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the right hon. Member for Cambridgeshire (Mr. Pym) on 16th January.—[Vol. 903, c. 286.]

Mr. Costain

Does the Minister appreciate that the financial embarrassment caused to horticulture by the increased price of oil has been exacerbated by the storm damage? Is he satisfied that a sufficient quantity of fresh vegetables grown under glass will be available in the spring?

Mr. Strang

We are conscious of the serious damage caused to certain horticultural producers by the recent gales. Our assessment of the position is that the overall effect on the national supply of horticultural produce is likely to be insignificant.

Mr. Fernyhough

As it is the policy of the Agricultural Commissioner in Brussels to reduce the acreage of glasshouses, will my hon. Friend say whether the damage caused by the recent storms is welcomed in Brussels? Will Brussels be prepared to pay as compensation for the damage inflicted by nature what it was prepared to pay to get its way?

Mr. Strang

I cannot speak for the European Commission, but my right hon. Friend will appreciate that Her Majesty's Government successfully opposed the Commission's proposal for demolition grants for the destruction of glasshouses.

Mr. Jopling

Does the Parliamentary Secretary understand that the storms have further lowered morale following the Government's refusal to support the glasshouse industry in the way it was supported in the other Community countries? Will the Government give an undertaking to come to the aid of the glasshouse industry if it runs into severe problems, as they did for the fishing industry?

Mr. Strang

I utterly reject the hon. Gentleman's implication that all other member States are paying an oil subsidy. We have made clear repeatedly that that is not so. It ill becomes the hon. Gentleman from the Opposition Front Bench to berate the Government for refusing to pay additional subsidies to private industry when at the same time the Leader of the Opposition complains that the public borrowing requirement is too large.