§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost to the European Community and to national Governments of the sums paid to farmers for not producing milk, under the milk quota scheme, in each year since the commencement of the scheme.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonUntil the 1987–88 milk quota year there was no provision for the Community to finance withdrawal from milk production. Community provision for the cost of the outgoers scheme and permanent quota cuts agreed in 1986 and the United Kingdom share of tills provision to date are as follows:
Total cost to EC budget Expenditure in the United Kingdom Mecu £ million Mecu £ million 1987–88 129 82 18.9 12.0 1988–89 194 123 28.3 18.0 The provision made to compensate for the temporary suspensions of quota agreed at the same time is as follows:
Total cost to EC budget Expenditure in the United Kingdom Mecu £ million Mecu £ million 1987–88 416 264 61.3 39.0 1988–89 572 381 84.3 56.1 All the expenditure provided for is fully financed from the Community budget.
Member states may make separate provision to compensate producers for total or partial withdrawal from milk production. Expenditure in the United Kingdom under these arrangements has been as follows:
£ million 1984–85 5.0 1985–86 9.6 1986–87 9.5 1987–88 11.1 11988–89 11.7 1 Estimated. Information on spending on national schemes by other member states is not available.
Community measures to compensate for the reduction or cessation of milk production are an essential part of a programme to reduce the total amount of milk produced in the Community. The full cost of these Community measures over seven years will be some 1.4 billion ecu. At current disposal costs, the extra spending arising from the continued production of a corresponding amount of milk would be 3.6 billion ecu.