§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give details of any overheads that have to be met by the Refreshment Department; whether these include any staff wages; and what effect these factors have on the costs of food for sale.
§ Mr. Charles IrvingI have been asked to reply.
The following are the Department's forecast overheads for 1980–81:
486W
£ Stocktaking 7,000 Group 4 Security 1,350 Insurance 3,800 Uniforms 12,000 Cleaning Materials 7,000 Contracts Cleaning 72,000 Staff Car Hire etc. 14,000 Hospitality 3,000
§ Mr. BlakerThe Polish Government have asked us and other Western countries for help in dealing with their current economic difficulties. The further credit guaranteed by Her Majesty's Government reflects our willingness to play our part. We have provided guarantees for £15 million which may be used for the purchase of European Community food and some additional new export credit to permit normal business to continue. We have also agreed to maintain ECGD cover for short term business. Exceptionally, we have agreed to provide guarantees for loans to cover a significant proportion of guaranteed debt due to the United Kingdom during the first quarter of 1981.
The question whether similar facilities should be granted to the Government of Cuba has not arisen.