§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish any paper or papers at present under preparation or which have been prepared in his Department, detailing the benefits of membership of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIt is not for my Department, concerned with only one aspect of our membership of the Community, to prepare papers on the overall balance of advantage of our membership.
§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any civil servant in his Department has, as his duties or part of his duties, responsibility for promoting or preparing a pro-European Economic Community case; and, if more than one, how many.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerCivil servants in my Ministry have the same range of responsibilities in relation to the Government's policy towards the Community as they have in relation to the Government's policy in other areas. This may sometimes involve the preparation of material designed to explain the Government's policy. It is not possible to estimate what proportion of their time is spent on this function in relation to the Community.