§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the level of subsidy received by the British coal industry during the last three years; and if he will publish 406W such information as is available to him as to the level of subsidy received by coal industries in Brazil, Spain, Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium and the Comecon countries.
§ Mr. John Moore:Production subsidies to the coal industries of Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom have been as follows in the last three years:
million 1979* 1980* 1981* Belgium 207.8 181.9 152.1 France 334.1 281.5 218.3 Federal Republic of Germany 716.5 670.0 627.6 United Kingdom 189.1 174.9 455.1 * For the United Kingdom the subsidies relate to financial years 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82. Subsidies have also been provided for social costs such as pensions, transfer and redundancy payments totalling £170 million in 1981–82. Comparable data for the Community coal industries are not available because social security arrangements vary widely in the different countries. My Department does not have details of any operating subsidies for the coal industries of Brazil, Korea, Japan, Spain and the Comecon countries.