§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the Government's financial contribution to research and development in the aerospace industry since 1970; how much of this money has been spent on civil and how much on defence projects; how much has gone to the British Aircraft Corporation, to Hawker Siddeley Aviation, to Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and to Rolls-Royce, respectively; and what return the industry has made either in taxation or in levy repayments.
§ Mr. Meacher:The Government contributed £615 million to research and development in the aerospace industry in the financial years 1970–71 to 1973–74. Defence projects accounted for approximately 45 per cent. of this, the remainder being civil projects, mainly Concorde and the RB211 engine. The records of Government expenditure in industry do not readily distinguish, for individual firms, between payments for research and development and payments for production. Thus, although broad estimates have been made of research and development expenditure in the aerospace industry, accurate figures in the detail requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Levy payments received by the Government from the aerospace industry in the financial years 1970–71 to 1973–74 totalled £14 million on the civil side. The corresponding military figure is not 284W readily available and cannot be obtained without disproportionate effort.
Seperate records of taxation payments by the aerospace industry are not kept. The amounts of corporation tax paid by companies in the aerospace industry can be obtained from their published accounts.