§ 47. Mr. LENNOX-BOYDasked the Minister of Agriculture the number of persons employed as a result of the British Sugar (Subsidy) Act of 1925; and the number of persons employed in British sugar refineries in 1924 and 1932 respectively?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Sir John Gilmour)The average number of persons employed in beet-sugar factories each year since the beginning of the subsidy period is about 7,130, of whom 2078 5,360 have been employed during the manufacturing seasons and the remainder whole time. No precise information is available as to the number of persons employed in the cultivation of sugar-beet crops and in ancillary industries (transport, building and machinery, factory supplies, etc.), but it is estimated that roughly 170,000 man-years of employment have been afforded indirectly by the beet-sugar industry during the subsidy period. I regret that I have no information as to the number of persons employed in British sugar refineries, but it is estimated that the refining of one ton of white sugar from raw sugar provides about one-third of the factory employment required for the manufacture of one ton of white sugar from beets.
§ Mr. McENTEEHow many "man-years" of wages has the subsidy actually cost?