§ 5. Miss Joan Lestorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much money has been paid out by the European Economic Community in the last three years to British farmers to enable them to cease producing milk.
§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Peter Walker)Payments by the European Community to dairy farmers in the United Kingdom under the non-marketing and conversion premium scheme amounted to £47.9 million in the years 1978–80.
The non-marketing section of the scheme has now closed to new applicants and the conversion section is expected to do so on 31 March 1981.
§ Miss LestorBearing in mind the confusion that no doubt exists in the minds of many people who see the price of their milk constantly rising, and then read those figures, will the Minister say whether an examination has ever been carried out into the number of people who received EEC grants to start producing milk, then received grants to stop producing milk, and then received further grants to switch to something else? Is the Minister aware that my examination of this is profound?
§ Mr. WalkerStudies have been made. In the main, there are few cases of that happening. That is the reason why the Government supported the ending of the schemes, which were started by a previous Administration.
§ Mr. LyellIs it not the case that while the EEC has been making payments to farmers to stop producing milk, the French Government have recently made an enormous payment of £400 million to French farmers to encourage them to continue producing dairy products? Is that not an abuse of EEC rules'? Will my right hon. Friend comment on that?
§ Mr. WalkerYes, Sir. As a result of inquiries about recent French aid to the dairy sector the Commission is taking action against the French Government.
§ Mr. StrangDoes the Minister agree that the cost of the EEC milk regime, now running at £2,400 million per annum, is monstrous? Does he agree that the proposed Commission's price increase, announced this morning, of a two-stage 8 per cent. increase in the price of milk is both an affront to the British people and economic lunacy? Will the Minister fight to hold down the cost of the common agricultural policy to the British people and oppose the ridiculous price increases?
§ Mr. WalkerAs the hon. Gentleman will know, the Government have done rather better at holding down price increases than the Government of which he was a member, under whom the average price increase was 7½ per cent. per annum. I gather that that is the average price increase suggested in the proposal. The Commission's proposals advocate price increases equal to the average that the Labour Government agreed to year after year.
§ Mr. MoateDoes my right hon. Friend still wish to see an expansion of the United Kingdom dairy production?
§ Mr. WalkerYes, but it must be based on improving our performance in manufactured products. There is little, if any, scope for increasing consumption of liquid milk because it is already above the average consumption of any other country in the world. Therefore, production depends on improving the manufacturing and processing side. Our efforts in marketing and the current benefit of positive MCAs are having a helpful effect.