1233
EEC (Agriculture
27 APRIL 1977
[Mr. Rees.] there were a desire for a change in that concept-and there is none on the part of the Government-the question of civic rights would be dealt with separately.
Mr. Sims: Will the right hon. Gentle- man accept that the time taken to produce the Green Paper and some of the phrases used in it suggest a somewhat leisurely approach to a problem that is closely enmeshed with the immigration question? Will he reconsider the timetable with a view to having a fairly early debate in the House on the Green Paper, with legis- lation in the next Session?
I
Mr. Rees: I have been much concerned about this matter since I was a junior Minister at the Home Office. When I took office as Home Secretary, I immediately asked what was going on about it. must advise the hon. Gentleman-I am sure that he will agree when he reads the Green Paper-that we cannot move quickly. This is an extremely compli- cated matter. I advise him also to recall the days of 1971, when the Conservative Government, wanting to move quickly, got it wrong.
Mrs. Jeger: Will my right hon. Friend give some thought to the problem of women citizens of the United Kingdom who are working abroad or who are abroad because their husbands work over- seas and whose children happen to be born abroad? Will he ensure that it will be possible for British women to have British babies wherever they happen to be born?
Mr. Rees: The aspect raised by my hon. Friend emphasises the point that we should be careful not to move quickly, because we might get it wrong again. There is a passage in the Green Paper which deals with the problem to which my hon. Friend has referred. It is extremely complicated, but I do want to deal with that aspect because there is different treat- ment for men and women in this respect. Other countries have put their minds to the problem in recent years, and in pre- paring the Green Paper I have taken account of what they have done.
Mr. Brotherton: Is the right hon. Gen- tleman aware that there are really only two types of British citizen-those who are British and those who are not? Re gardless of what is in the Green Paper,
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Ministers' Meeting)
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can he assure the people of England, Ire- land, Scotland and Wales that those who are born here as native-born citizens of the United Kingdom will not be placed as second-class citizens because of what is in the Green Paper?
Mr. Rees: I do not think that the hon. Gentleman would have asked that ques- tion had he read the Green Paper first. On his first point regarding types of British citizen, I am tempted to ask him
Are you one?
66
1
99
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (AGRICULTURE MINISTERS'
MEETING)
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. John Silkin): With per- mission, Mr. Speaker, I should like to report on the outcome of the meeting of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) on 25th-26th April. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary represented the United Kingdom for the discussions on agriculture, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland for the discussions on fisheries.
Agreement was reached on Community farm prices for 1977-78. The common support prices will rise by 3.5 per cent. for most commodities, the lowest figure since United Kingdom accession. There will be a butter subsidy for the United Kingdom, which was not included in the Commission's original proposals, at a rate of 81p per lb., until 1st April 1978. This should lead to an immediate fall in shop prices of about 5p per lb., although I now learn that this may actually be an understatement. begin to rise again, but increases and de- Prices thereafter will
creases throughout the year are expected roughly to cancel out. The subsidy on Community butter will be financed by the farm fund. It will continue until 1st January 1979, though the rate after 1st April 1978 has yet to be decided.
For beef, our premium system, with intervention only as a fallback, will be continued not merely until July, as the Commission originally proposed, but for the whole of 1977-78. I am confident that agreement will be reached in the course of the year that the premium system be retained permanently. I shall announce this week the scale of United Kingdom target prices for 1977-78, but
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EEC
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