§ Mr. Woofasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many members there are of the Sugar Board; what the present functions are; and whether, as a result of Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community, any change has taken place in the functions of the Sugar Board.
§ Mr. GodberThe Sugar Board consists of a full-time chairman and four part-time members.
The board continues to perform its main function of purchasing the sugar which the Government are committed to take under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement and reselling it at the world price. It will continue, until 30th June, to operate the consumer subsidy on sugar. I have also asked it to make, on my behalf, the payments to sugar refiners which I announced to the House on 28th March.—[Vol. 853, c. 1307–8.]
Previously the board was also responsible, under sections 19 and 20 of the 356W Sugar Act 1956, for regulating the finances of the British Sugar Corporation Limited in such a way that the corporation's revenues were sufficient, but not more than sufficient, to pay the guaranteed price for sugar beet. Since 1st February this has become unnecessary because the Community's sugar arrangements, which we adopted on that date, are themselves designed to give beet processors an adequate margin from sales of sugar and by-products, after allowing for the payment of the Community's minimum beet price. As a result the board's loss or profit on its transactions in Commonwealth sugar, instead of being aggregated with the payments to or from the corporation and the resulting deficit or surplus being recovered or liquidated by a surcharge or payment on all sugar consumed domestically, is now dealt with in the manner set out in Protocol 17 of the Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.