Food Aid

HC Deb 19 March 1987 vol 112 cc1025-7

3. Mr. Spencer

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest amounts of food products authorised for release under the European Economic Community food aid scheme.

Mr. Jopling

The most recent figures of authorised releases from intervention stores represent almost 50 million packs of butter and almost 8 million portions of beef. Charitable organisations are purchasing milk and butter from commercial sources, and claims for about 110,000 pints of milk and 840 tonnes of cheese have so far been received by the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce.

Mr. Spencer

Will my right hon. Friend condemn the carping criticism from some quarters that the charities have not been distributing the food quickly enough? Does he not feel that that is an insult to the splendid effort of thousands of voluntary workers, who have distributed so much food to so many most needy pensioners?

Mr. Jopling

My hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. The House should congratulate the charitable organisations that have co-operated in the scheme, for which there was a tentative estimate for the European Community as a whole of £35 million at the outset of the scheme. In the outcome, we expect that the scheme will cost about £35 million— the same amount— in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Chris Smith

Will the Minister explain why that particular method of distribution was chosen? Many pensioner groups, organisations and charities in my constituency have not been able to get any of the food. Many pensioners in my constituency have not had the chance of getting any of the assistance. Why has that chaos attended upon the introduction of the scheme?

Mr. Jopling

To use the word "chaos" is absolutely absurd, as the answer to the previous question clearly shows. The charities have co-operated extremely well together. If the hon. Gentleman has in mind certain charities that would be interested in joining the scheme, I hope that he will direct them to some of those charities—of which there are a good many— that have been taking the lead.

Mr. Key

Notwithstanding the welcome that has been given to the scheme, will my right hon. Friend do his very best to ensure that never again is such an intolerable burden of distribution placed on the voluntary agencies, which have received a stream and torrent of abuse from angry pensioners and their relatives? That is quite unfair.

Mr. Jopling

My hon. Friend will recall that it was the decision of the Commission in Brussels that the distribution of the food should be made by charitable organisations. That decision was not in our hands.

Mr. Madden

What financial help are the Government giving to the charitable organisations that have faced an enormous burden in distributing butter and beer? Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that no charitable organisation's day-to-day activities will be put in jeopardy, either now or in future, as a result of expenditure that it has incurred through the distribution? Will he give a clear undertaking that in any future distribution clear and precise information will be issued through the local media so that all needy people are given a reasonable opportunity of knowing what is available, where it is available and when it will he available?

Mr. Jopling

Very many of the charitable organisations have said that they regard this work as a great opportunity because they are so closely in touch with people who could best benefit from the food. We told the charities from the outset that the costs of final distribution to recipients were for the charities and that no Community or national funding was available.

Mr. Stokes

Is my right hon. Friend aware that it is absolutely right to use the voluntary agencies to distribute the food? However, is he further aware that it is hard for hon. Members to discover exactly what is happening in their constituencies? May we have some help about that?

Mr. Jopling

My hon. Friend will, I think, be aware of the main charitable organisations that have been taking the lead in these matters. However, I shall be very glad to let him have the addresses of some of the charities in his part of the west midlands, although I suspect that he may know some of them very well already.

Mr. Lawrence

Is my right hon. Friend aware that two particular problems have emerged in my area? First, the distributing charities have great difficulty in being able to cook or provide cooked meat, so that very few pensioners are getting the meat. Secondly, as long as it is unlawful to mark the pension book, there is no way of ensuring that the same people are not going from charity to charity to get more and more of the free distribution.

Mr. Jopling

My hon. and learned Friend should recall that such difficulties were really inherent in the Commission's decision that the charitable organisations should be responsible for distribution. I think that on the whole the charities have done incredibly well in performing the service at very short notice.

Mr. Randall

What is the estimated total cost to the voluntary and charitable organisations of supporting the food aid scheme? Is it not a disgrace that organisations such as the Salvation Army and Age Concern have to use their own scarce resources when FEOGA and the Commission have so much money to play with? I understand that local authorities are also involved in this work. How many authorities are involved, and why?

Mr. Jopling

Far from having money to play with, the Community is likely to overrun its budget by 3½ billion ecu next year. We explained to the charities at the outset that the final distribution costs would be for them. They went into the scheme with great enthusiasm, but they knew exactly what the rules were when they started.