§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the bodies, statutory and otherwise, for which he is responsible which sell goods or services, or whose activities have a direct bearing on the prices charged for goods and services, or which have any responsibility for monitoring any prices.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI assume that the hon. Member is referring to non-departmental public bodies listed in Cmnd.7797. I have responsibility for the following such bodies which meet his criteria
Eggs Authority, which has the general duty of improving the marketing of eggs. It provides a service for producers and others, the cost of which is met from levy. It also provides point of sale advertising material and charges non-producers who wish to receive its weekly report-largely consisting of current supplies and prices at various stages of marketing.Home-Grown Cereals Authority, which has the general aim of improving the marketing of home-grown cereals. It makes a charge for weekly postage of its printed information and special report. The authority collects and processes returns which include quantities and prices of all corn sold in Great Britain.Land Settlement Association Ltd., which manages certain smallholding estates on my behalf. It undertakes the wholesale marketing of the horticulture produce of the smallholding tenants on their behalf and also provides the tenants with such items as seeds and fertilisers and services such as cultivation, insurance and accountancy.Meat and Livestock Commission, which carries out a wide range of functions under its statutory duty to promote greater efficiency in the livestock and livestock product industries. These activities are financed by a levy on slaughterings and—with certain exceptions—exports of livestock and by fees charged to individual producers and traders who make use of particular services. The commission's activities do not have a direct bearing on the end prices for livestock or livestock products but the imposition of the levy and of fees may have an indirect bearing.The commission undertakes, as agent for the Agriculture Departments and the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce, price reporting on cattle, sheep and pigs for purposes of the common agricultural policy of the European Community. In addition, as part of its general activities, it publishes regular surveys of market prices for meat and livestock.252WWhite Fish Authority, which charges for certain of the advice it provides to the United Kingdom and overseas fishing industries. The authority collects fish statistics, including prices, but is not under a statutory obligation to do so.