§ Mr. Michael BrownTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will set up a working group of officials from his Department and representatives of the fishing industry to review the burdens of existing legislation on fishermen as it relates to bureaucracy;
(2) what representations he has received on deregulation relating to the burdens of bureaucracy on the fishing industry.
§ Mr. JackFollowing representations from the fishing industry, I secured last June a commitment from the 521W European Fisheries Commissioner that the Commission would examine how the body of regulation under the common fisheries policy could be simplified. We invited our industry to make suggestions for simplification but it has not yet been able to offer any. A meeting with the industry is now planned which I hope will be able to make some useful progress.