§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost paid to, or owing from, public funds to date in respect of subsidies, writings off, actual or prospective, and other losses in respect of all nationalised industries.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th July 1978; Vol. 247W 954 c. 683], gave the following information:
Amounts included in the first column for the year ended 31st March 1978 are provisional. All costs have been included, although a large part of the expenditure
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES Subsidies, compensation and other payments made in the period to March 1978 Capital debt and revenue deficits written-off to date (July 1977) £ million £ million National Coal Board 758 864.5(5) Electricity Industry (England and Wales) 655 — Electricity Industry (Scotland) 121 — British Gas Corporation 107 — British National Oil Corporation — — British Steel Corporation — 350.0(6) Post Office 449 207.1(7) British Airways Board 48 135.0(8) British Airports Authority 23(2) — British Transport Commission (1) 260 487.4 British Railways Board 3,336(3) 1,451.1(9) London Transport Board (1) 41 269.8 British Transport Docks Board — — British Waterways Board 71 15.5 National Freight Corporation 111 —(10) National Bus Company 81(4) — Scottish Transport Group 31(4) — British Aerospace — — British Shipbuilders 29 — Notes: (1) The BTC ceased to exist from 1st January 1963. The LTB ceased to be a nationalised industry on 1st January 1970. (2) Grants for airport development. (3) Payments to passenger transport executives in respect of their payments for BR services are included. (4) Grants towards bus fuel duty are excluded. Since this table covers specific central Government grants only, local authority subsidies to bus services are also excluded, except for the central Government contribution to local authority subsidies to rural bus services. Certain grants included in the totals are also available to other operators in the industry. (5) Includes £90.8 million in respect of accumulated revenue losses at March 1965, £24.8 million provision for revenue losses in the year ended March 1966 and £174.6 million in respect of accumulated revenue losses to March 1973. (6) This amount was transferred to reserves under the Iron and Steel Act 1972; against this £236 million had been written off by 1st April 1978. (7) Including £13 million in respect of PO Banking services recreated into the form of public dividend capital. (8) Including £30 million reconstituted as a reserve, which has since been capitalised as public dividend capital. (9) Including £705 million debt suspended under the Transport Act 1962 and finally written-off under the Transport Act 1968. (10) A Bill is before the House providing for the write-off of £53.1 million of NFC debt.