§ Mr. Hardyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much the per capita consumption of butter has fallen during the last three years.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithConsumption of butter in the United Kingdom, as recorded in the national food survey, was 4.45 oz per capita per week in 1979 and fell to 3.69 oz in 1981.
§ Mr. Charles Morrisonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements the Council of Ministers has agreed for the special sale of subsidised butter in member States with low levels of intervention stocks and for a change in the rate of subsidy on butter for those receiving social assistance.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerOn 9 November the European Community Commission introduced a scheme for a special 173W sale of subsidised butter from intervention stocks and aided private storage. Supplies of butter from those sources are insufficient to meet the needs of the scheme in Greece, Italy, Denmark and Luxembourg and the Council has therefore now adopted regulation (EEC) 2989/82 which permits the subsidy to be paid on open market butter in those member States. The Council has also adopted regulation (EEC) 2990/82 which increases the permitted level of Community financing where butter is sold to persons receiving social assistance from 60.4 ECUs to 80 ECUs/100 kg of butter.
These measures were described in unnumbered explanatory memoranda dated 8 November 1982, which have been deposited in the Library of the House.