§ Mr. Barnesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the total amount paid out in subsidy to the British sugar-beet industry since 1924, together with the total amount of revenue lost to the Exchequer through the remission of excise duty?
§ Sir J. SimonThe total of the subsidy for the financial years 1924–25 to 1937–38 was £40,958,834. Excise duty is levied on sugar manufactured in this country from home-grown beet, and by remission of excise duty I take the hon. Member to mean the difference between the amount of duty payable and the amount which would have been received had duty been charged on a similar quantity of British refined sugar of foreign origin. This difference amounts for the same period of 14 years to £19,532,000.