asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consultations took place with the national farmers' unions before he decided to change the wheat deficiency payments from a tonnage to an acreage basis.

The proposal was extensively discussed in the course of the 1970 Annual Review. The Farmers Unions were given an opportunity to make further representations and these were considered before the final decision was announced in the House on 9th November, 1970.—[Vol. 806, c. 43–4.]