Common Agricultural Policy (Hansard, 15 March 1994)

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will estimate the cost of the common agricultural policy to each household in the United Kingdom, breaking this figure down into(a) the running costs of the common agricultural policy and (b) the amount which the policy adds on to food prices.

§ Mr. Jack
The Exchequer cost of common agricultural policy expenditure in the United Kingdom in the current financial year is estimated at £2,727 million. In addition, the United Kingdom also contributes to the cost of the CAP in other member states. However, the United Kingdom contributes to the EC budget as a whole, and this is reduced by the Fontainebleau abatement which cannot be attributed to particular sectors of the EC budget.
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It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the consumer cost of the CAP to each household in the United Kingdom without making many assumptions.

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will estimate the combined cost of the common agricultural policy and other national farm aids to the United Kingdom: and what this figure is broken down into(a) payments directly or indirectly received by farmers and (b) the cost to consumers in the form of higher food prices.

§ Mr. Jack
Total Exchequer expenditure on agricultural subsidies in the United Kingdom is estimated at £3,015 million for 1993–94, of which £2,727 million is in relation to the CAP. The remainder is either part-financed by the guidance section of the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, or is wholly nationally funded. The United Kingdom also contributes to the EC budget, and thus to the cost of the CAP in other member states.
It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the consumer cost of the CAP in the United Kingdom without making many assumptions. Most non-CAP schemes are structural in nature and would not have a direct impact on food prices.

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost of the common agricultural policy to each citizen in the European Union in each year since 1973.

§ Mr. Jack
It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the cost of the CAP to each EU citizen since it includes consumer costs which cannot be calculated without making many assumptions.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the loss of trade with non-EC countries consequent on the common agricultural policy.

§ Mr. Jack
No such assessment has been made. The question is purely hypothetical and if an assessment was possible it would require a large number of highly speculative assumptions.