§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why 850W Cmnd. 7593, presented to Parliament by command of Her Majesty in July, was not cited in the schedule to the European Communities (Definition of Treaties) International Wheat Agreement Order 1979; and what were the reasons for including a reference to the Journal of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAt the time when the order was drafted, the Command paper to which the hon. Member refers had not been printed. The schedule to the Order therefore made reference to the Official Journal of the European Communities as being the only place at that time in which the relevant treaties had been published.
The lack of reference to a United Kingdom Command Paper in no way affects the legality of the order. For the future I assure the hon. Member we shall endeavour to ensure that definition of treaties orders cite Command Papers wherever possible.