§ Sir John Hallasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether, when calculating the rate of return on net trading assets of particular industries, his Department uses the same method as that used by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
§ Mr. Les Huckfield, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd May 1977, Vol. 931, c. 47–8], gave the following information:
420W31st March 1977 for weekly unemployment benefit, earnings make-up, and training allowances, and to 30th September 1976 for training costs and resettlement grants:
My Department uses the figures prepared by the accountancy staff of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission except that for the rate of return at replacement cost after deducting stock appreciation. My Department's statistician's, in estimating stock appreciation, use a different method and more detailed unpublished information. The resulting rates of return can be very different when price changes are large and variable.