§ Mr. Leeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy towards accepting disparities between Common Market commodity prices and United Kingdom prices; what remedies he proposes to adopt to remedy the situation; and if these include the non-implementation of the relevant Common Market directives.
§ Mr. John SilkinAs I explained in my statement after the Council on 8th-12th May—[Vol. 949, col. 1605–1620]—the proposal by the Commission for phasing out MCAs has been set aside. Meanwhile, my policy is to keep under close review the level of the green pound which reflects the disparity betwen United Kingdom and common support prices. I shall recommend further devaluations only when this is in the overall national interest.