§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of(a) the cost to a family of four of the common agricultural policy and (b) the pecuniary benefit which such a family derives from United Kingdom membership of the EEC. [31761]
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe common agricultural policy imposes costs on consumers estimated for 1993 at some £3 per week per person. A note setting out the calculations of the costs to United Kingdom taxpayers and consumers has been placed in Library of the House.
However, while such an assessment of the costs of the CAP can be made, to carry out an assessment of the pecuniary and wider benefits of UK membership of the European Union for a family of four would be time consuming and expensive. It would not be possible to disentangle the direct impact of EU membership over more than two decades from changes which are due to other factors.