§ Mr. Marlowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an assurance that the other members of the European Community cannot delay the scheduled budget repayments to the United Kingdom if the common fisheries policy is not settled by the due date of 31 December this year.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1980]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor) on 27 November.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it would be possible, on the basis of Great 118W Britain's EEC obligations, to deduct the rebates agreed for 1980 and 1981 from the contributions which he makes to the EEC; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1980]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to his previous question on this subject on 28 November.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, in view of the fact that about two thirds of the rebate is payable only after individual projects have been approved for grant by EEC committees, he included the rebate from the EEC in his recent statement on public expenditure reductions for the current financial year.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1980]: The statement to which my hon. Friend refers related to the 1981–82 financial year, not to the current one. It was appropriate to take credit for the full amount of the refunds estimated to be payable to us because the Community is committed, under the 30 May agreement, to making us payments on this scale.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the agreement with the EEC on the payment of rebates to the United Kingdom provided for the sums to be paid by the dates specified in the agreement whether or not there is agreement on a common fisheries policy; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1980]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to his earlier question on this subject on 27 November.