To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans his Ministry has to mark its centenary during 1989.

The Ministry will be arranging a number of events which will be co-ordinated with the programme for Food and Farming Year, which also takes place in 1989. There will be exhibitions in London and in the regions, a centenary history of the Ministry and a special centenary appeal in aid of the Save the Children Fund.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Many hon. Members can probably remember the days of food rationing—[HON. MEMBERS: "Speak for yourself".] I am not speaking personally. Will not the celebrations present us with an ideal opportunity to congratulate all farmers on the magnificent efforts that they have made over the years to provide the country with sufficient food —always at the urging of Conservative Governments?

I entirely agree. One of the problems is that because we have had to grapple with the farmers' success and the penalties that that has brought, with surpluses and the CAP, there has been too much public emphasis on the problems of the CAP and not enough on the contributions that have been made by our farmers and food industry over the past 40 years. Especially in the past few years, the range and quality of food have been improving and the price increases of food are well below the general level of the RPI. There is a good record on production, quality, price and exports, and I believe that 1989 will give us a good opportunity to put that ease across.

Will the Minister find time to reflect in the centenary year that for most of the past 100 years Britain's food policy was determined in Britain and not in Brussels? Does he agree with me that consumers were better served when the policy was determined in Britain?

It is the case that we have moved faster towards self-sufficiency in those products that we can grow in the past 10 years than in earlier periods. Our farmers have used the opportunity of entering the Community to continue to expand our food production.

To ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the industry can celebrate their bicentenary, will my right hon. Friend mark his Ministry's centenary by ensuring that he extracts from the Treasury adequate resources for agricultural research, in the interests both of farm production and of the countryside?

My hon. Friend will know that a large contribution is made to agriculture, food and fisheries research and development from public funds at present. The sum is currently running at about £200 million a year, which is a substantial contribution.

I wonder whether, when this centenary is celebrated, a plaque will be unveiled on the wall of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and whether tribute will be paid to this industry, subsidised during the whole course of its 100 years. Will the Minister tell us what the exact amount of subsidy has been over the past 10 years, during which the Prime Minister and the Cabinet have talked about leaving matters to market forces, and during which time more than £10 billion has been ploughed into the industry from the taxpayer?

The figure has been too high, especially in relation to the production of surpluses. That is why we have been playing a leading part in the Community in achieving the reform of the common agricultural policy. As a result of our recent efforts, savings of more than £1,000 million will be made over the next four years in the United Kingdom alone, compared with what would have happened had we not undertaken the reforms.