HC Deb 20 April 1978 vol 948 cc649-51
5. Mr. Michael Latham

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on his review of the White Paper "Food from Our Own Resources".

Mr. Strang

The review of the White Paper is both wide-ranging and thorough, and the industry has not yet supplied us with all the relevant evidence. We hope the review will be completed by the early summer, and are giving consideration to the form in which its conclusions should be made public.

Mr. Latham

As previous forecasts and targets by the Government have turned out to be farcically over-optimistic, why should farmers have any confidence in this latest exercise?

Mr. Strang

The best answer to that is probably to be found in the Budget. We must bear in mind that we have recently had the best farmers' Budget since the war. My right hon. Friend's breakthrough on tax averaging has received an unqualified welcome from the farming unions.

Mr. Hardy

Will my hon. Friend confirm that the variations of agricultural production in recent years have been more reflective of variations in weather than anything else? Does he expect the Conservative Party to promise farmers good weather at the next General Election?

Mr. Strang

Everyone knows that the main reason for production levels being well below what we believed the industry could achieve was the adverse weather in 1975 and, especially, the exceptional drought of 1976. I agree that it is not possible to lay down specific production targets for individual years, and the White Paper did not do this.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

If the Under-Secretary of State and the Government are to honour their objectives in "Food from Our Own Resources", does he agree that his right hon. Friend will have to declare to his colleagues and counterparts in the Council of Agricultural Ministers in Europe that there is a desperate crisis in the pig industry, and that unless there is a recalculation of the MCAs immediately irreparable damage will be done to the industry, which will be damaging to the housewife and consumer in the United Kingdom?

Mr. Strang

The hon. Gentleman must realise by now that my right hon. Friend is fully seized of the serious situation in the pig industry. He has been repeatedly raising the issue in the Community and modifications have been achieved in recent months in the calculation of the MCAs. The present position is still totally unsatisfactory, and that is why my right hon. Friend emphasised again, earlier this afternoon, that having persuaded the Commission to bring forward proposals we are determined to ensure that these are agreed as part of the prices package.

Mr. Geraint Howells

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if we are to increase production from the land of Britain, especially from the hill and marginal lands, we shall have to spend more money on research? Is he aware that we are spending less money on research on agriculture than on any other industry in Britain? Has he any plans to give more financial aid to the research stations?

Mr. Strang

I cannot accept that we are spending less money on research in agriculture than on research in any other industry. However, I agree with the hon. Gentleman that agricultural research and development is enormously important. As the nature of our agriculture industry is one of relatively small units, responsibility for carrying out research lies, to a large extent, with the Government and Government establishments.

Mr. Madden

Does my hon. Friend agree that two objectives of the White Paper were maximising consumer choice and employment? Therefore, will he do everything that he can to assist today's talks to ensure that work-sharing within the breadmaking industry is undertaken, thereby safeguarding several thousand redundancies that otherwise will take place at Spillers French?

Mr. Strang

My hon. Friend refers to important negotiations that are taking place in relation to Spillers and he will be aware that the Government have expressed support for a reduction in the working week for bakers in these circumstances.

Mr. Peyton

In redrafting this interesting document, will the hon. Gentleman recall that the major gap in "Food from Our Own Resources" was any reference to how the objectives would be achieved? This time it is incumbent upon the Government to fill that gap.

Mr. Strang

Surely the way to achieve the objective of increasing agricultural production in the United Kingdom is to provide the right framework of confidence for producers to expand and increase production. Even the right hon. Gentleman might be prepared to acknowledge that the statement last week by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer represents a tremendous advance in this area. It represents an important breakthrough in tax averaging, but in addition there is the increase in the buildings allowance and important additional roll-over provisions on capital gains tax.

Mr. Peyton

I should hate to be unfair. If the hon. Gentleman does not realise this, I should like to say that we salute the rather fragmentary death-bed repentance on the part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mr. Strang

That grudging comment is a reflection on the stance of Her Majesty's Opposition. It contrasts sharply with the official statements that have been issued by the farming unions.