HC Deb 23 January 1998 vol 304 c697W
Mr. Pond

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will carry out an assessment of the impact of his Department's current policies on the(a) income, (b) employment opportunities and (c) living standards, of the poorest 30 per cent. of the population. [23341]

Mr. Morley

The Department evaluates policies against a number of criteria for their impact. One of our key priorities is to reform the Common Agriculture Policy of the European Union on more rational lines and reduce its costs as the CAP imposes costs on consumers of food as well as tax payers.