§ Mr. David Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what subsidies in each category of expenditure have been or will be paid out from central Government funds and local authority funds in 281W the fiscal years 1974–75 and 1975–76, expressed as a percentage of total public revenue and expenditure, as a percentage of gross national product, and as a percentage of the total cost of providing each subsidised service;
(2) what amounts, for the fiscal years 1974–75 and 1975–76, have been or will be paid out from central Government funds and local authority funds in subsidies in the following categories; housing, food, agriculture, fisheries, Northern
1974–75 £ million As percentage of total Category of expenditure Central government Local authorities Total Public revenue Public expenditure Housing … … … … 641 144 785 2.2 1.8 Food … … … … 530* — 530* 1.4 1.2 Agriculture … … … 496* — 496* 1.4 1.1 Aid to industry (excluding regional aid) … … … … 88 119† 207 0.6 0.5 Regional aid … … … 167 — 167 0.4 0.4 Nationalised industries: Price restraint: Electricity Council … 315 — 315 0.9 0.7 Gas Council … … 25 — 25 0.1 0.1 Post Office … … 307 — 307 0.8 0.7 Total for price restraint … 647 — 647 1.8 1.5 National Coal Board … 135 — 135 0.4 0.3 British Rail … … … 339 4 343 0.9 0.8 British Waterways Board … 7 — 7 — — Other nationalised industries subsidies … … … 7 — 7 — — Northern Ireland … … … 90 — 90 0.2 0.2 Total … … 3,147 267 3,414 9.4 7.7 Total public revenue … … 36,501 Total public expenditure … … 44,151 * This figure does not take account of offsetting receipts from the EEC † Including subsidies to National Bus Company. The GNP for 1974–75 is not yet available and it would be premature to produce an estimate of it at present. The total cost of providing each subsidised service on a comparable outturn price basis is also not available.