§ Lord Moranasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they share the view of the common agricultural policy expressed on behalf of the previous government by Earl Ferrers on 21 November 1995 (H.L. Deb., col. 259) that it "is, at present, too costly, too inefficient and too wasteful. It can disadvantage the consumer and the food industry and it often provides incentives for production without paying proper regard to environmental considerations".
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)It is generally accepted that the CAP displays the characteristics referred to in the question. That is why the Government have made reform of the CAP a major plank of their European policy. We will be pursuing this vigorously with our European partners.