§ Captain Kerbyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what financial agreement or arrangements he has made with the Provisional Egg Marketing Board; and whether he will lay details of such agreement before 148W Parliament prior to moving the adoption of the scheme.
Mr. AmoryNo financial agreement can be made until the Egg Marketing Scheme has been approved by Parliament. It was agreed with the National Farmers' Unions and announced in 1955 that, if a board with full trading powers were established, the price guaranteed to egg producers would take the form of a flat rate subsidy payable on eggs sold through packing stations at a rate per dozen determined in the light of each year's Annual Review. The subsidy would be varied only if producers' average returns were appreciably different from those expected when the subsidy was fixed and, in that case, the excess or deficiency would be shared between producers and the Exchequer.