HC Deb 11 March 1999 vol 327 cc489-90
8. Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney)

What recent progress has been made with reform of the common agricultural policy in relation to likely food prices for consumers. [74085]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Jeff Rooker)

I regret that I have to give my hon. Friend the same answer that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary gave earlier. The negotiations reached a conclusion only this morning and my right hon Friend the Minister hopes to make a full statement to the House tomorrow.

Mr. Blizzard

May I add my congratulations to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the key role that he played in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion? Does my hon. Friend agree that the 20 per cent. cut in production subsidies that has been agreed should lead to a substantial reduction of possibly £70 a year in food bills for British families? Does that not show that the Government's policy of engagement and gaining influence in Europe is much more successful than just standing on the sideline moaning?

Mr. Rooker

Yes. The success of the negotiations should inevitably lead to a reduction in food prices. We have no reason whatever to believe that those reductions will not be passed on to the consumer.

Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)

A moment ago, the Parliamentary Secretary said that the price of pigmeat is going up. However, the Minister of State knows that, with the United Kingdom ban on stalls and tethering, it will always be possible for our continental partners to undercut us, and that there is no chance for many years of a Europe-wide ban being imposed. What action are the Government taking to use article 36 of the treaty of Rome to ban pigmeat that does not meet our very high welfare standards?

Mr. Rooker

I do not think that that matter figured much in the negotiations on CAP reform. Nevertheless, the Government have said, both inside and outside the House, that we have a voluntary agreement with supermarkets and with the British Retail Consortium that they will not import the products of producers who do not meet United Kingdom welfare standards. They will report back to us on the success of the approach. It is important that that approach should be led by the industry, as it understands British customers' concerns in wanting to buy pork and pigmeat that is produced to exactly the welfare standards that we demand in the United Kingdom.