HC Deb 12 May 1975 vol 892 cc34-5W
Mr. Teddy Taylor

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total sum collected in levies on imported footstuffs in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; if he will express this total as a sum per week, how much of the annual sum was transmitted to EEC funds; and how much was retained by Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. Joel Barnett

The total amount of agricultural levies collected on imports of foodstuffs for the year ending 28th February 1975, the latest period for which figures are available, was £25,832,000, which is equivalent to about £497,000 per week. During the transitional period to 1977, the United Kingdom contribution to the EEC budget is determined, not by the amount of "own resources" collected in the United Kingdom but by reference to a percentage of the Budget expenditure, determined under the Treaty of Accession. The proportion of the agricultural levies collected in the United Kingdom which are paid to the Community could not therefore be estimated without making some artificial assumptions about the split of the United Kingdom contribution between customs duties and import levies.