§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Technology what is, from information available to him from international sources, the amount of subsidy per ton of coal paid by the European Economic Community to its member States; and what is the total cost of the United Kingdom's Government measures designed to assist the coal industry in terms of subsidy per ton of coal.
Mr. Alan Williams:The European Coal and Steel Community arranges the payment of subsidies on community-produced coking coal. These are financed by contributions from member States and have been up to 14s. 0d. per ton. The community also imposes a levy (totalling about £15 million in 1969) on coal and steel production, and part of this (equivalent to less than 1s. 0d. per ton of community-produced coal) is credited for helping miners adjust to new circumstances; in addition, the community also grants and guarantees loans to its coal and steel industries.
The Governments of community countries also pay to their coal industries subsidies of varying amounts as given in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Mr. Kelley) on 19th January. It is not possible to assess the value of the United Kingdom measures of support in terms of subsidy per ton of coal.—[Vol. 794, c. 9–10.]