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Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing how many people seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom who had a decision made on their application last year were detained by the immigration service for (a) up to one month, (b) one to two months, (c) two to three months, (d) three to six months, (e) six to nine months, (f) nine to 12 months, (g) 12 to 15 months, (h) 15 to 18 months and (i) over 18 months before the decision was made.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers currently detained in prison service accommodation by (a) nationality, (b) gender and (c) place of detention.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is as follows :


Asylum seekers detained in prison service accommodation on  

11 March 1994                                               

(a) By nationality                                          

Nationality                         |Number                 

------------------------------------------------------------

Algeria                             |18                     

Angola                              |4                      

Bangladesh                          |1                      

Brazil                              |1                      

Cameroon                            |1                      

China                               |3                      

Colombia                            |3                      

Egypt                               |3                      

Eritrea                             |1                      

Ethiopia                            |2                      

Ghana                               |26                     

Guinea                              |1                      

Haiti                               |3                      

India                               |85                     

Iran                                |2                      

Ivory Coast                         |2                      

Jamaica                             |3                      

Kenya                               |5                      

Libya                               |1                      

Niger                               |1                      

Nigeria                             |32                     

Pakistan                            |11                     

Poland                              |1                      

Romania                             |2                      

Sierra Leone                        |5                      

Singapore                           |1                      

Slovania                            |1                      

Somalia                             |1                      

Sri Lanka                           |4                      

Thailand                            |1                      

Tunisia                             |1                      

Turkey                              |30                     

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus |1                      

Zaire                               |2                      

Zimbabwe                            |13                     

Nationality Unknown                 |2                      

                                    |----                   

Total                               |274                    


(b) By gender           

        |Number         

------------------------

Males   |270            

Females |4              

        |-------        

Total   |274            


(c) by place of detention       

                |Number         

--------------------------------

Armley          |1              

Barlinnie       |1              

Bedford         |2              

Belmarsh        |2              

Birmingham      |33             

Blakenhurst     |23             

Brinsford       |4              

Bristol         |2              

Brixton         |7              

Bullingdon      |1              

Camphill        |1              

Canterbury      |20             

Chelmsford      |1              

Dover YOI       |4              

Dumfries YOI    |1              

Durham          |2              

Elmley          |2              

Exeter          |1              

Feltham YOI     |5              

Gateside        |2              

Glen Parva      |2              

Gloucester      |3              

Greenock        |2              

Haslar<1>       |85             

Highdown        |15             

Holloway        |5              

Hull            |2              

Isle of Sheppey |1              

Leeds           |1              

Leicester       |1              

Lewes           |3              

Norwich         |2              

Pentonville     |15             

Reading         |4              

Risley          |1              

Rochester       |2              

Saughton        |1              

Shrewsbury      |2              

Stoke Newington |2              

Waltham Gaol    |2              

Wandsworth      |2              

Wellingborough  |1              

Winchester      |2              

Wormwood Scrubs |3              

                |-------        

Total           |274            

<1> The Home Office holding     

centre at Haslar is primarily   

an immigration service          

detention centre, although      

managed by the Prison Service.  

Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown by (a) nationality and (b) gender of the total number of asylum seekers detained pending examination of their asylum claim in (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994 to date.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available. General information on the total number of asylum applicants in 1992, including data on nationality and gender, is published in table 2.1 and at paragraph 24 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin issue 1/93 "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 1992", a copy of which is in the Library.


Column 593

Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers who failed to comply with the terms of temporary admission and absconded in (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994 to date.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is not available in the form requested. The information available is given in the table.


Number of passengers at United Kingdom ports of entry   

              |Passengers   |<1>Passengers              

              |granted      |who                        

              |temporary    |absconded                  

              |admission                                

--------------------------------------------------------

1988          |8,692        |401                        

1989          |13,744       |475                        

1990          |15,357       |561                        

1991          |13,220       |601                        

1992          |16,947       |530                        

1993          |19,066       |667                        

<1>These figures include passengers who abscond from    

the control area or from detention as well as those who 

abscond from temporary admission. Data on the latter    

are not separately available.                           

Drug Prevention Teams

Mr. Spring : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what towns and cities drugs prevention teams are operating currently.

Mr. Maclean : Local teams are operating under the Home Office drugs prevention initiative in the following locations :

Birmingham

Bradford

Brent

Brighton and Hove

Bristol

Dundee

Glasgow

Hackney

Lambeth

Lewisham

Liverpool

Manchester

Newcastle

Newham

Nottingham

Salford

Southwark

West Glamorgan

Wirral

Wolverhampton

Young Offenders

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of offenders appearing before the courts in the Doncaster area were aged under 21 years in each year since 1988 and this year to date.


Column 594

Mr. Maclean : Information for 1988 to 1992 is given in the table. Data for 1993 and 1994 are not yet available.


Number and percentage of offenders aged under 21 years convicted 

at                                                               

Doncaster magistrates court<1> for all offences by type of       

offence                                                          

1988-1992                                                        

Type ofoffence/Year   All ages   Aged under 21                   

                     |[=100]    |Number    |Percentage           

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Indictable                                                       

1988                 |3,079     |1,324     |43                   

1989                 |2,602     |1,128     |43                   

1990                 |2,540     |1,065     |42                   

1991                 |2,334     |994       |43                   

1992                 |2,180     |816       |37                   

                                                                 

Summary non-motoring                                             

1988                 |3,142     |593       |19                   

1989                 |2,934     |720       |25                   

1990                 |3,513     |705       |20                   

1991                 |3,106     |476       |15                   

1992                 |3,108     |357       |11                   

                                                                 

Summary motoring                                                 

1988                 |3,367     |648       |19                   

1989                 |3,912     |689       |18                   

1990                 |3,899     |694       |18                   

1991                 |3,152     |556       |18                   

1992                 |3,103     |484       |16                   

                                                                 

All offences                                                     

1988                 |9,588     |2,565     |27                   

1989                 |9,448     |2,537     |27                   

1990                 |9,952     |2,464     |25                   

1991                 |8,592     |2,026     |24                   

1992                 |8,391     |1,657     |20                   

<1>Includes convictions at the Crown court where the committing  

court was Doncaster PSD.                                         

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles were convicted of offences in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) Humberside for the latest date he has figures available ; and what were the figures (i) five years and (ii) 10 years ago.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Information for 1982, 1987 and 1992 is given in the table. Data for 1993 will not be available until autumn 1994.


Column 593


Number of juveniles aged 10 to under 17 years convicted of all offences by police force area and type of offence 1982, 1987 and 1992               

Type of offence/Year |South               |North               |West                |Humberside          |England                                  

                     |Yorkshire           |Yorkshire           |Yorkshire                                |and Wales                                

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indictable                                                                                                                                         

    1982             |2,715               |863                 |5,383               |2,187               |81,756                                   

    1987             |1,551               |410                 |2,055               |914                 |41,963                                   

    1992             |692                 |191                 |1,578               |477                 |20,428                                   

                                                                                                                                                   

Summary non-motoring                                                                                                                               

    1982             |462                 |231                 |957                 |632                 |17,145                                   

    1987             |247                 |75                  |321                 |148                 |7,304                                    

    1992             |180                 |49                  |478                 |155                 |6,673                                    

                                                                                                                                                   

Summary motoring                                                                                                                                   

    1982             |288                 |209                 |553                 |487                 |11,117                                   

    1987             |84                  |66                  |117                 |167                 |4,330                                    

    1992             |42                  |14                  |81                  |106                 |1,905                                    

                                                                                                                                                   

All offences                                                                                                                                       

    1982             |3,465               |1,303               |6,893               |3,306               |110,018                                  

    1987             |1,882               |551                 |2,493               |1,229               |53,597                                   

    1992             |914                 |254                 |2,137               |738                 |29,006                                   

Prisoners (Deportation Orders)

Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time that a prisoner who has been the subject of a deportation order has to wait in prison or detention centre after completing his sentence.

Mr. Charles Wardle : During 1993 the average period for which a prisoner who was subject to deportation proceedings following a criminal conviction remained detained on completion of his or her sentence was about a week. In 463 out of 528 cases, there was no delay. In the


Column 596

others, the period included time taken to determine outstanding appeals, applications for judicial review, and applications for asylum.

Police (Attacks)

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year for the last 10 years and this year to date the numbers of (a) murders, (b) murders of members of the police force, (c) attacks on police officers, giving level of seriousness and (d) policemen and women in each post for the (i) Humberside, (ii) North Yorkshire, (iii) South Yorkshire and (iv) West Yorkshire police force areas.

Mr. Maclean : The following tables show such information as is readily available centrally.


Column 595


                                                       Assaults on                                           Police strength                                      

                                                       police                                                                                                     

Year              |Offences decided |Cases in col. (1)|Fatal            |Serious          |Minor/other      |Male             |Female                             

                  |at court to be   |involving police                                                                                                             

                  |murder                                                                                                                                         

                  |(1)              |(2)              |(3)              |(4)              |(5)              |(6)              |(7)                                

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(i)Humberside                                                                                                                                                     

1983              |3                |-                                                                      |1,608            |157                                

1984              |3                |-                                                                      |1,766            |146                                

1985              |4                |-                                                                      |1,787            |149                                

1986              |-                |-                                                                      |1,810            |152                                

1987              |3                |-                                                                      |1,810            |149                                

1988              |4                |-                                                                      |1,825            |154                                

1989              |3                |-                |-                |6                |554              |1,840            |153                                

1990              |3                |-                |-                |45               |273              |1,830            |159                                

1991              |2                |-                |-                |11               |271              |1,835            |181                                

1992              |-                |-                |-                |7                |226              |1,839            |194                                

                                                                                                                                                                  

(ii) North Yorkshire                                                                                                                                              

1983              |-                |-                                                                      |1,269            |85                                 

1984              |2                |-                                                                      |1,252            |89                                 

1985              |-                |-                                                                      |1,249            |104                                

1986              |1                |-                                                                      |1,247            |101                                

1987              |1                |-                                                                      |1,273            |110                                

1988              |2                |-                                                                      |1,251            |111                                

1989              |4                |-                |-                |13               |113              |1,261            |118                                

1990              |1                |-                |-                |6                |140              |1,246            |133                                

1991              |1                |-                |-                |13               |136              |1,235            |147                                

1992              |1                |<1>1             |-                |6                |134              |1.258            |150                                

                                                                                                                                                                  

(iii) South Yorkshire                                                                                                                                             

1983              |8                |-                                                                      |2,581            |277                                

1984              |2                |-                                                                      |2,590            |283                                

1985              |4                |-                                                                      |2,577            |273                                

1986              |7                |-                                                                      |2,572            |274                                

1987              |3                |-                                                                      |2,647            |287                                

1988              |8                |-                                                                      |2,652            |289                                

1989              |5                |-                |-                |23               |311              |2,644            |302                                

1990              |6                |-                |-                |32               |276              |2,664            |320                                

1991              |3                |-                |-                |85               |99               |2,661            |328                                

1992              |4                |-                |-                |20               |177              |2,651            |349                                

                                                                                                                                                                  

(iv) West Yorkshire                                                                                                                                               

1983              |7                |-                                                                      |4,613            |503                                

1984              |9                |-                                                                      |4,543            |483                                

1985              |11               |-                                                                      |4,567            |482                                

1986              |7                |-                                                                      |4,636            |480                                

1987              |10               |-                                                                      |4,704            |502                                

1988              |6                |-                                                                      |4,692            |522                                

1989              |14               |-                |-                |63               |692              |4,651            |566                                

1990              |15               |-                |-                |58               |629              |4,662            |614                                

1991              |10               |-                |-                |59               |650              |4,538            |605                                

1992              |3                |-                |-                |58               |719              |4,441            |629                                

<1> A special constable was fatally attacked: special constables are not included in the figures given for police strength.                                       

Information for 1993 is not yet available. Offences decided at court to be murder are as at 27 August 1993 ;


Column 596

these figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available.


Column 597

Drugs

Mr. Spring : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the second survey on drug usage and drugs prevention, comparing urban and rural areas, is likely to be published.

Mr. Maclean : On 17 December 1993 we published a summary of the self -reported drug usage findings of the 1992 British crime survey, together with a report by researchers at the university of Sheffield, "Drug Usage and Drugs Prevention : the views and habits of the general public", which presented the results of a survey carried out in 1992 in four major cities on behalf of the drugs prevention initiative. The documents are in the Library. Building on the four-cities survey, the drugs prevention initiative has commissioned a further report from the university of Sheffield analysing the findings of a telephone survey conducted last year of the drugs usage and attitudes of the public in Greater Manchester and the surrounding rural area. The report is not yet completed : we hope to publish it in due course.

Car Thefts and Burglaries

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year for the last 10 years and this year to date the number of cars damaged, the level of house burglary, theft from cars and burglary in the (a) Humberside, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) West Yorkshire police areas.

Mr. Maclean : Information for the last 10 years on offences of burglary and theft from cars is published annually in table 3.1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables, Volume 3", copies of which are available in the Library. Figures for the latest available period for the 12 months to June 1993 are given in the table. Information on the number of cars damaged is not collected centrally.


Notable offences recorded by the police-12 months to June 1993          

Number of offences                                                      

                |Total-all    |Burglary in a|Theft from                 

                |burglary     |dwelling     |cars                       

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humberside      |46,425       |18,789       |21,207                     

North Yorkshire |16,598       |7,551        |9,342                      

South Yorkshire |48,868       |23,274       |24,101                     

West Yorkshire  |94,436       |56,624       |51,204                     

Public Interest Immunity

Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response the Government have made to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on criminal justice concerning public interest immunity.

Mr. Maclean : The Royal Commission made a number of recommendations about the disclosure of information held by the prosecution, including the proposal that criminal cases where the disclosure of sensitive material is an issue should be dealt with only by High Court or nominated circuit judges--recommendation 123. As stated in the interim Government response to the Royal Commission, placed in the Library of the House on 22 February, the Government are still considering these recommendations.


Column 598

Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public interest immunity certificates he has signed in each year since 1990.

Mr. Howard : No central record is kept of public interest immunity certificates covering the years 1990 to 9 April 1992. Since that time, I and my predecessor have signed 10 certificates.

Prisoners Charter

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish a prisoners charter ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Prison Service's commitments under the citizens charter were set out in "The Prison Service and Citizen's Charter", published in April 1993. This document was circulated very widely within the Prison Service and a copy has been placed in the Library. There is, however, no plan to publish a prisoners charter.

Director General of the Prison Service

Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days per year the chief executive of the Prison Service agency spends on his other business interests.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Under the terms of his appointment the Director General of the Prison Service is permitted to spend a maximum of one and a half days a month in normal working hours as a non-executive director of other organisations.

Mr. Zahid Parvaiz

Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letters sent to him on 7 December 1993, 1 January 1994 and 10 February 1994 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Zahid Parvaiz.

Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend wrote to the right hon. Member on 14 March.

Hypnosis

Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to review the licensing guidelines for acts of hypnosis in Home Office circular 42/1989 ;

(2) what plans he has to bring stage hypnotists into a central register with a code of conduct ;

(3) what plans he has to make it compulsory for stage hypnotists to carry public liability insurance.

Mr. Charles Wardle : We have no present plans to do so.

Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department has on the incidence of unlicensed stage hypnotism acts.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Between 1982 and 1992, the last year for which statistics are available, there was a total of five prosecutions for offences against the Hypnotism Act 1952, four of which resulted in convictions. Information about the number of prosecutions and convictions for the particular offence of giving an unauthorised public performance of stage hypnotism is not recorded separately.


Column 599

Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to bring private clubs and students unions under the provisions of the Hypnotism Act 1952.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Any public performance of stage hypnotism in such premises will already fall within the ambit of the Hypnotism Act 1952. We have no present plans to extend the application of that Act to private entertainments.

Parkhurst Prison

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State met Professor Bob Johnson, psychiatrist at Parkhurst prison ; what action the Minister has taken as a result of that meeting ; what analysis has been undertaken of the results obtained from work undertaken by Professor Johnson at Parkhurst prison ; if Professor Johnson and the governor of Parkhurst prison have been asked to supply further information ; what plans he has to visit Parkhurst prison to discuss Professor Johnson's work with staff and prisoners ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : I first met Dr. Johnson during a visit to Parkhurst prison in October last year. He subsequently came to see me at the Home Office. As a result, I asked the Director General of the Prison Service to consider the need for research into the effectiveness of Dr. Johnson's work.

Dr. Johnson has since discussed his work and its evaluation with the director general and other Prison Service officials. It is intended that the research will be undertaken later this year. I have no plans to visit the prison again in the near future.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will provide a list of the full dates of publication of the annual report of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for each year since it was established ;

(2) when the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board annual report for 1992-93 will be published.

Mr. Maclean : The report for 1992-93 was published on 9 March. As indicated in my reply on 24 January to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche), column 63 , I understand the delay on this occasion was caused by a technical difficulty encountered by the board's auditors in the transfer of the board's investment accounts for children from one financial institution to another.

The dates of publication of the board's previous annual reports, to the extent that these can readily be ascertained within the time available, are as follows :


Report           |Command         |Year ending     |Date published                   

number           |number          |March                                             

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1                |6,077           |1965            |October 1965                     

2                |3,117           |1966            |October 1966                     

3                |3,427           |1967            |October 1967                     

4                |3,814           |1968            |November 1968                    

5                |4,179           |1969            |October 1969                     

6                |4,494           |1970            |October 1970                     

7                |4,812           |1971            |November 1971                    

8                |5,127           |1972            |November 1972                    

9                |5,468           |1973            |November 1973                    

10               |5,791           |1974            |November 1974                    

11               |6,291           |1975            |November 1975                    

12               |6,656           |1976            |November 1976                    

13               |7,022           |1977            |25 November 1977                 

14               |7,396           |1978            |24 December 1978                 

15               |7,752           |1979            |28 November 1979                 

16               |8,081           |1980            |18 November 1980                 

17               |8,401           |1981            |1 December 1981                  

18               |8,752           |1982            |1 December 1982                  

19               |9,093           |1983            |1 December 1983                  

20               |9,399           |1984            |4 December 1984                  

21               |9,684           |1985            |12 December 1985                 

22               |42              |1986            |16 December 1986                 

23               |265             |1987            |9 December 1987                  

24               |536             |1988            |6 December 1988                  

25               |900             |1989            |6 December 1989                  

26               |1,365           |1990            |18 December 1990                 

27               |1,782           |1991            |18 December 1991                 

28               |2,122           |1992            |17 December 1992                 

Drug Smuggling

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what his Department estimates to be the proportion of drugs smuggled into the United Kingdom which are seized by the police or Her Majesty's Customs and Excise ;

(2) what has been the country of origin of shipments of illegal drugs seized by the police and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise since 1988.

Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 8 March 1994] : This information is not available, but I will write to the hon. Member.

Age of Consent

Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the age of consent for both men and women in each EC country.

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 28 February 1994] : The following table sets out what I understand to be the ages at which, provided there is mutual consent and no special provisions apply--see footnote--persons may legally engage in heterosexual and homosexual acts in each EC country.


               |Male/female  |Male/male    |Female/female              

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Belgium        |14           |14           |14                         

Denmark        |<1>15        |<1>15        |<1>15                      

France         |15           |15           |15                         

Germany        |<1><2>14     |18           |<1><2>14                   

Greece         |17           |17           |17                         

Ireland        |17           |17           |15                         

Italy          |<1>14        |<1>14        |<1>14                      

Luxembourg     |16           |16           |16                         

Netherlands    |<1>16        |<1>16        |<1>16                      

Portugal       |14           |16           |16                         

Spain          |<1>16        |<1>16        |<1>16                      

United Kingdom |<3>16        |21           |<3>16                      

<1> A higher age may apply where the older person is in a position of  

authority, influence of trust.                                         

<2> The German parliament is preparing to debate in March draft        

legislation which would unify the age ofconsent for each category at   

16.                                                                    

<3> Seventeen in Northern Ireland.                                     


Column 601

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Cereals

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cereal farmers in the United Kingdom last year received cash benefits in excess of £40,000 from the common agricultural policy ; and what proportion received these benefits without growing anything.

Mr. Jack : The number of cereal farmers receiving cash benefits in excess of £40,000 from the common agricultural policy last year cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

The introduction of the arable area payment scheme was partly to compensate for cuts in support prices for cereals. Farmers claiming under the main arable area payments scheme for 1992-93 were required to set aside 15 per cent. of the area of their claim ; the remaining 85 per cent. had to consist of eligible area crops. Therefore they could not receive benefits without growing anything. Under the voluntary five-year-set-aside scheme, there was no requirement to continue to grow arable crops to qualify for set-aside payments. Last year around 10 farmers who had set aside all their eligible arable land received payments in excess of £40,000.

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment she has made of the extent to which the United Kingdom agricultural industry was disadvantaged by not applying for derogation on the moisture content in the 1993 cereal harvest.

Mr. Jack : No assessment on the lines suggested is possible.

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment she has made as to (a) the moisture content of the cereals that the majority of cereal purchasers will buy and (b) whether the majority of cereal purchasers will pay a premium for cereals with a moisture content of less than 15 per cent.

Mr. Jack : Moisture content requirements and any premium offered are a matter for the commercial judgment of the purchaser. We have no information which allows us to establish what proportion of cereals purchasers will pay a premium for cereals with a moisture content of less than 15 per cent.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will estimate the cost of the common agricultural policy to each household in the United Kingdom, breaking this figure down into (a) the running costs of the common agricultural policy and (b) the amount which the policy adds on to food prices.

Mr. Jack : The Exchequer cost of common agricultural policy expenditure in the United Kingdom in the current financial year is estimated at £2,727 million. In addition, the United Kingdom also contributes to the cost of the CAP in other member states. However, the United Kingdom contributes to the EC budget as a whole, and this is reduced by the Fontainebleau abatement which cannot be attributed to particular sectors of the EC budget.


Column 602

It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the consumer cost of the CAP to each household in the United Kingdom without making many assumptions.

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will estimate the combined cost of the common agricultural policy and other national farm aids to the United Kingdom ; and what this figure is broken down into (a) payments directly or indirectly received by farmers and (b) the cost to consumers in the form of higher food prices.

Mr. Jack : Total Exchequer expenditure on agricultural subsidies in the United Kingdom is estimated at £3,015 million for 1993-94, of which £2,727 million is in relation to the CAP. The remainder is either part-financed by the guidance section of the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, or is wholly nationally funded. The United Kingdom also contributes to the EC budget, and thus to the cost of the CAP in other member states.

It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the consumer cost of the CAP in the United Kingdom without making many assumptions. Most non-CAP schemes are structural in nature and would not have a direct impact on food prices.

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost of the common agricultural policy to each citizen in the European Union in each year since 1973.

Mr. Jack : It is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the cost of the CAP to each EU citizen since it includes consumer costs which cannot be calculated without making many assumptions.

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the loss of trade with non-EC countries consequent on the common agricultural policy.

Mr. Jack : No such assessment has been made. The question is purely hypothetical and if an assessment was possible it would require a large number of highly speculative assumptions.


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