§ Mr. Skeetasked the Minister of Overseas Development (1) if he will set out in the Official Report the arguments urged 113W by the developing States for a common fund designed to stabilise commodity prices and the posture of the industrial States;
(2) what was the attitude of the United Kingdom on the North-South dialogue involving a common fund which was deadlocked recently in Geneva; and what is the alignment of the major industrial States;
(3) what details have been produced by the developing States of their scheme for a common fund; in particular, how it is intended to be financed; and how minimum prices are to be established.
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
The positions of the main groups of countries participating in the recent Geneva conference on the Common Fund are outlined in the conference chairman's summing up, the text of which was given in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Thornaby (Mr. Wrigglesworth) 6th April 1977.—(Vol. 929, c. 517–8].
Together with other members of the EEC, the United Kingdom agrees that there should be a Common Fund. Our views on the objectives and purpose of such a fund and certain other questions which would need to be resolved are reflected in the documents setting out the views of the developed countries.
While the UNCTAD Secretariat has put forward detailed proposals on the operation of a Common Fund, the developing countries have not done so. Their ideas on certain particular points were, however, set out in a preliminary way in the summing up documents.
Copies of documents referred to in the summing up, which set out in greater de-
For Economic Reasons For Other Reasons Over 80 feet Up to 80 feet Over 80 feet Up to 80 feet December 1976 … 4 22 4 68 December 1975 … 19 48 1 35 "Other reasons" include sale and major repairs. Very small craft are excluded from the table. Comprehensive information is not collected on non-fishing duties, but my Department's survey showed that, at the end of 1976, 18 fishing vessels over 80 ft. were employed on oil-related duties compared with 13 in 1975.
114Wtail the views of the developed and developing countries on the mattes raised by the hon. Member, are being placed in the Library.