HC Deb 23 March 1978 vol 946 cc742-3W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the light of the fact that Great Britain is subsidising the Community of the EEC to the extent of £1,000 million per annum, taking everything into account, including the recent 7.5 per cent. devaluation of the green pound, and is a net contributor now to the extent of £660 million per annum in 1978, rising to £830 million per annum in 1980, and that this will put severe constraints on the rate at which the British economy can expand, what action he proposes to take to change this situation; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Joel Barnett

The figure of £1,000 million per year, which is arrived at in a recent study by the Cambridge Economic Policy Group, comprises two elements: our current net contribution to the EEC budget, which arises essentially from the cost of the Common Agricultural Policy; and an estimate, based on current world market prices, of the extent to which Community membership raises the cost of our food imports. It is thus a measure of the balance of payments cost of the CAP and takes no account of the benefits of Community membership in other sectors. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture told the House during the debate on 21st March, the remedy lies in continuing to pursue our policy of reducing the EEC's agricultural prices in real terms and eliminating agricultural surpluses, thereby cutting the cost of the CAP.