§ Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he proposes for seeds administration on entry to the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. PriorAdoption of the Community's seeds régime will involve a number of changes in our present seed controls and the Government are seeking the necessary additional powers under Schedule 4D of the European Communities Bill. We intend to operate the new system in close co-operation with the seeds industry which shares the Government's view that for this purpose we need a single body with statutory powers which can operate throughout the United Kingdom. The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce to be established under Clause 6 of the European Communities Bill can conveniently provide the necessary statutory basis for such a body.
With the full support of the seeds industry, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland and I therefore propose to set up a special committee of the 334W board, which will be known as the United Kingdom Seeds Executive, to co-ordinate seeds work throughout the country under the general direction of the Agricultural Ministers. We shall aim for quite a small body whose members will be drawn from the Agricultural Departments, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany and the seeds industry, although the latter will not be in any sense representative of sectional interests. In this way seeds administration will benefit from the industry's knowledge and experience and I would expect the Seeds Executive to supplement this where necessary with a system of consultation with the interests concerned.