§ 77. Mr. Ernest Daviesasked the Assistant Postmaster-General as representing the Ministry of Information the net contribution to the Revenue made by the B.B.C. during the currency of its first charter and its present charter to date, respectively.
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§ Mr. BurkeI assume that my hon. Friend wishes to know how much of the revenue from wireless receiving licences accrued to the Exchequer as surplus after making payments to the B.B.C. and after deducting the share of the revenue assigned for collection and similar services. During the charter period which ended in 1936 this surplus was £7,365,000. In addition, the B.B.C. surrendered £637,500 to the Exchequer as a special contribution to national economy. Under the present charter, as a result of the expansion of the overseas services during the war, the total payments to the B.B.C. from 1st January, 1937, to 31st March, 1945, exceeded the net licence revenue by £14,100,000.