§ Mr. Buchanasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what has been the cost in each year since 1970 of assistance in marketing of agricultural products;
(2) what has been the cost in each year since 970 of assistance to agricultural co-operatives.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerAssistance to co-operatives, in the form of capital grants, since the inception of the agricultural and horticultural co-operation scheme in 1971 is given in line A of the following table. Line B represents the amounts spent by the Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation on co-operative marketing projects, from money allocated specifically for that purpose. Line C shows central council expenditure incurred in carrying out its statutory role under the Agriculture Act 1967 of encouraging all forms of agricultural co-operation. A high proportion of this is directly related to co-operative marketing activities, but it is not possible to give a detailed breakdown.