HL Deb 08 November 1983 vol 444 cc788-9WA
Viscount Rochdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the present state of progress in considering European Community Document No. 5133/83 concerning a Commission proposal for a Council regulation on food aid policy and food aid management required for the implementation of the annual food aid programme.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Lord Trefgarne)

In accordance with normal practice, the document was deposited in Parliament on 8th March and an explanatory memorandum was presented by my right honourable friend the Minister for Overseas Development on 18th March. Your Select Committee on the European Communities referred the document to its Sub-Committee "B" for consideration but unfortunately the sub-committee was unable to deal with it before the Dissolution. The Select Committee on European Legislation etc. in another place decided on 23rd March that the document was politically important but not for debate.

The document was discussed by the Foreign Affairs Council on 21st June and, as was indicated by a Written Answer in another place on 23rd June, decisions were taken on the proposals in the document.

The Government would normally have placed a scrutiny reserve on the decision until the Select Committee had scrutinised the document, but in this case my right honourable friend the Minister for Overseas Development wrote to my noble friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in her former capacity on 6th June, explaining that the Government felt that it would have been unreasonable for us to delay a decision on the annual food aid programme for several months. Decisions on policy parameters for the 1983 food aid programme were already overdue in June, because of teething troubles with the implementation of new management procedures for food aid, and until these decisions had been taken by the Council the Commission could not begin to implement the food aid programme, some of which would be required for emergencies. The Community has been criticised in the past for late implementation of its food aid programme and we did not wish to be the cause of further delay this year.