§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many hectares of land have been bought by British nationals in each of the other eight member States since Great Britain's entry into the EEC; and how many 345W hectares of land have been bought by EEC nationals in Great Britain in that time.
§ Mr. WigginI regret that I have no information about the purchase of land by British nationals in the other eight member States.
The Inland Revenue is currently attempting to determine how much land in England and Wales has been purchased by EEC nationals in the 12 months ended September 1979. In addition, officials in the regional and divisional offices of my Department have been instructed to report all such purchases which come to their attention.
I shall write to my hon. Friend when sufficient information has been obtained.
Description and CCT heading Net levy (£/100 kg) on 16 December 1979 Net levy (£/100 kg) on 19 December 1979 (1) (2) Pigmeat carcases (02.01 AIIIa1) … … 19.3217 22.9753 Salted bacon sides (02.06 BIa2aa) … … 24.7330 29.4101 Lard (15.01 AII) … … 6.1819 7.3510 Live calves (01.02 AIIa) … … 30.3350 34.2290 Frozen quarters (02.01 AIIb1) … … 52.0434 58.6247 Boneless frozen meat (02.01 AIIb4bb33) … … 94.7760 102.9883 Butter 82–84 per cent. fat content (04.03 A) (3) … … 139.3500 147.9612 Skimmed milk powder (04.02 AIIb1) … … 53.1899 56.7791 Cheddar cheese (04.04 EIbb1bb) … … 111.1346 117.8481 White sugar (Undenatured) (17.01 A) … … 10.8886 11.5234 Notes: 1. Conversion from european currency units into sterling has been made using the representative rate of £1=1.70148 ECU and multiplying the resulting figures by the monetary coefficient of 1.090. 2. Conversion from european currency units into sterling has been made using the representative rate of £1=1.61641 ECU and multiplying the resulting figures by the monetary coefficient of 1.035. 3.There is a special rate for New Zealand butter. 4. The "Net Levy" figures represent the gross EEC levy multiplied by the United Kingdom monetary coefficient minus the monetary compensatory amount.
§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on the retail price of basic foodstuffs if Great Britain ceased to charge levies on imported food.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIf we ceased to apply levies to our imports of food from third countries, the retail prices of both imported and home-produced food might be some 8 to 10 per cent. lower than otherwise.