§ 52. Mr. DoranTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends to change his policy on financial support for the fishing industry, in the light of the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, entitled "Financial Support for the Fishing Industry in Great Britain"; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerFisheries Ministers thoroughly reviewed their objectives and policies with regard to both financial support for the United Kingdom fishing fleet and the restrictive licensing arrangements as recently as the winter of 1986–87 and one of the results of that review was our decision to withdraw the decommissioning grants which attracted particular attention in the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. I announced our conclusions on 30 April, 1987,Official Report, columns 217–19. We continue to keep our policies for the fishing industry under regular review.