EU referendum: David Cameron answers your questions on Brexit

Here is what the PM said to your questions:

Question: Food production in this country is under pressure. Food prices are in competition with imports, the Single Farm Payments are being reduced, farm gate prices have fallen, wages are increasing, and there is an ever-increasing burden of legislation on our industry. If we left the EU, what would the government do to keep us away from factory farming, and protect younger and more traditional type farms?

Rob Alderson, farmer, Onibury

Answer: Look at the reaction from the industry already. The main farmers' unions in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all backed a remain vote. Of the Food and Drink Federation's poll, only 12 per cent of members want us to leave. The reason is clear: inside the EU, they have 500 million customers on their doorstep – and even more through the EU's trade deals with the rest of the world. With no tariffs, no quotas and no barriers, British farmers sell £340 million of beef, £200 million of lamb and £260 million of chicken to the EU each year.

Times are tough for farmers. But inside Europe, we're able to help make things easier. In my renegotiation, I secured commitments to reduce the EU's regulatory burden. Outside the EU, we wouldn't have any say over that – or over welfare standards. And we'd lose out on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, which has allocated more than £20 billion in support to UK farmers between 2014 and 2020.

Question: The UK construction materials industry is strongly regulated, and many people in the sector feel that some imports come from markets with far less regulation, but with ease of movement meaning it comes into the UK. Would the PM say the best way to regulate those imports is through talks inside the EU or by separating?

Owen Batham, sales and marketing director, Elite Precast Concrete

Answer: I would absolutely say the best way of getting a good deal for our construction industry – indeed all our industries – is being inside the EU. Outside, we have no say on the rules that affect us. And outside, it's predicted there would be an economic shock – bad news for businesses, jobs, interest rates and our economic stability.

Question: In simple figures, how much each day do we pay into the EU system and how much per day do we make out of it?

Rob Jones, Shrewsbury

Answer: Just over 1p in every £1 of tax paid here goes to the EU. But the benefits – of free trade, jobs, investment, opportunity and economic stability – significantly outweigh the cost.

Treasury analysis has shown that, in the long term, Britain would be £36 billion short in tax receipts. That would leave us with less money to spend on schools, hospitals, and other public services.

The impact of the country's falling GDP would leave families an average £4,300 a year worse off.

So the message is clear: pound for pound, we're better off inside the EU than out on our own.

Question: With so much political dissatisfaction amongst younger voters, what will you do to encourage this key demographic to vote to remain within the EU?

Megan Magowan, Telford

Answer: I think one of the most important messages we can get out to young people is that their vote matters – and it really is important that they get to the polling station and have their say. That's a message I have been pushing very hard as I go around the country, meeting sixth formers, university students and young professionals.

These people worry about how the outcome will affect their job prospects, their chance to travel and their opportunity to buy a home in the future. Our job is to demonstrate to them that their hopes and aspirations are best realised in a Britain that is part of a reformed EU.

Question: If we remain in the EU please can you explain in simple language how we can control the number of migrants coming from the EU to the UK?

Margaret Linington-Payne, Crumpsbrook

Answer: The special status we have in the EU means we're permanently out of the parts which don't work for us, including the Schengen no-borders agreement that applies elsewhere in Europe. In other words, we have a hard border which we control. I also secured an agreement for Britain to reduce the unnatural draw our benefits system has across Europe, making EU migrants wait for 4 years before they can have full access to our benefits system. Plus, we have already made sure that EU migrants can't claim the reformed unemployment benefit, Universal Credit, while looking for work.

Question: Why have you authorised the spending of nine million pounds of public money on a pro-EU biased leaflet?

A child with head injuries was taken to hospital in Shropshire recently in a fire engine because there was not a single ambulance available in the county. How many ambulances would nine million pounds have paid for?

Malcolm Richards, Cardington

Answer: The NHS is our most precious institution. It's facing unprecedented challenges, with more expensive drugs, people living longer, and more people with long-term conditions. That's why we're investing £10 billion extra in it each year by 2020. We're only able to do that because we have a strong economy. That's dependent on many factors – one of which is that we're able to trade freely, encourage overseas investment and generate the tax receipts that pay for our public services. Without those things – and indeed without the EU's Single Market – our ability to support our NHS would be hampered. That's why former health secretaries, many of those who work in the NHS and the unions representing health workers say the NHS will be stronger if we remain.

With so much at stake, it's right people have all the facts before they take their decision – perhaps the biggest political decision in their lifetimes. Independent polling showed that 85 per cent of the public want more information from the government – and we have a responsibility to provide that. We did so in a leaflet, which explained, in simple language, what membership of the EU does for Britain. The government is not neutral in this debate – the cabinet made a decision to support the case for remaining. And I hope that's what Shropshire Star readers decide to do.