§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for the Enviroment, from information available to him based on demands that have just reached ratepayers, if he will tabulate the average rate burden on industry and commerce, by region and in total, and expressed as a percentage of total manufacturing cost, indicating how the position has changed from a year ago, five years ago and 10 years ago.
§ Mr. KingThe available information is limited to the years 1973–78 for manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom as a whole. Within that period, the answer is as follows:
Rates paid by manufacturing industry, 1973–78, United Kingdom 1973 1976 1978 Rate payments £ million 349 705 825 Rate payments as a proportion of manufacturing costs (exclusive of rates and taxes) 0.65% 0.72% 0.68% Manufacturing costs increased by 15 per cent. in 1979. Rate payments by businesses, including the commercial sector, rose by 15 per cent. in the financial year 1979–80; they then rose by 25 per cent. in 1980–81 and by an estimated 18 per cent, in 1981–82.