§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth (Mr. Grocott) on the nationalised industries Official Report, 2nd March 1978, column 356, if he will provide a further column of figures for the year 1977–78.
Mr. Joel BurnettFollowing is the information:
886W
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES CENTRAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS 1977–78(1) £ million National Coal Board Grants in connection with pit closures 13.1 Payments towards cost of premature pensions for redundant mineworkers 3.2 Operational grants 24.1 Contribution towards deficiency in mineworkers' pension scheme 34.0 Electricity Council and Boards Compensation for accelerating capital expenditure to promote employment 7.8 Scottish Electricity Boards Compensation for losses on BACO Smelter account 13.2 British Airports Authority Capital grant for development of Aberdeen Airport 4.6 British Railways Board Infrastructure grants 4.3 Research and development 1.9 Pension fund deposit grant 34.3 each of the various taxes; and what would the corporation tax revenue have been in the absence of petroleum revenue tax.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettFollowing are the figures.
Compensation for public service obligation 353.7 Grant for funding of pensions obligation 69.9 Grant for standardisation of Accounts (EEC regulation 1192/69) 11.3 Interest on pension fund deposits 5.0 Freight deficit grant 0.8 British Waterways Board Grant in aid 13.1 Grant towards capital expenditure on bridges 2.1 National Freight Corporation Cash flow deficit 30.6 National Bus Company(2) New bus grants(3) 19.0 Scottish Transport Group(2) Grant towards the deficit of David MacBrayne Ltd. 0.9 New bus grants(3) 3.8 Capital grants towards provision of ferry terminals 0.7 Grant towards the deficit of Caledonian MacBrayne 2.7 British Shipbuilders Construction grants 0.3 Merchant shipbuilding subsidies 27.2 (1) Excluding grants available to industry as a whole except where otherwise indicated. Amounts shown are payments made in 1977–78. (2) Excluding grants towards bus fuel duty. Since this table covers specific central government grants only, local authority subsidies to bus services are also excluded, except for the central government contribution to local authority subsidies to rural bus services. (3) These grants are also available to other operators in the industry.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many nationalised 887W industries have indicated their progress towards industrial democracy as requested in the White Paper (Command Paper No. 7131).
§ Mr. Joel BarnettAll except three of the nationalised industries have reported their progress, and those three are expected to do so in the very near future.