§ Mr. Leightonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the United Kingdom's gross and net contribution to the EEC budget in 1979, 1980 and 1981; and what is the assumed rate of exchange between sterling and the ECU in each case.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 15 November 1979, c. 762]: The latest forecast for the contribution to the Community budget in 1979 is about £1,600 million gross and £900 million net, and in 1980 about £1,900 million gross and somewhat over £1,000 million net, all figures at 1979 prices. On present trends the forecast for 1981 will be somewhat higher. The exchange rate used to convert constant price estimates from EUA to sterling was 0.651.