§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the return on capital (a) in each of the nationalised industries and (b) all other commercial state concerns; and what total capital is involved in each case.
§ Mr. Peter ReesIt is not possible to provide information for each nationalised industry on a comparable basis. Available figures are as follows:
Capital returns 1981* Capital employed £ million Rate of return Including subsidy Per cent. Excluding subsidy Per cent. Air Transport (British Airports Authority; British Airways Board; Civil Aviation Authority) 2,420 -5.9 -6.4 Coal (National Coal Board) 6,290 1.9 -5.9 Electricity (Electricity Council, England and Wales; North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board; South of Scotland Electricity Board; Northern Ireland Electricity Service) 29,106 -0.2 -0.2 Gas (British Gas Corporation) 10,828 5.0 5.0 Posts and Telecom (Post Office; British Telecom) 20,710 0.7 0.7 Rail (British Railways Board) 17,142 -2.2 -7.1 Steel† (British Steel Corporation) 11,256 -8.7 -8.7 Total Nationalised Industries‡ 104,160 -0.4 -1.9 Public Corporations (other than nationalised industries) 35,840 1.4 -0.8 * Latest available year. † Excludes capital write-offs. ‡Includes industries not appearing elsewhere in this table. The basis for the calculation and comparable figures for the years 1970 to 1979 were supplied by the Treasury in evidence to the Treasury and 90W Civil Service Select Committee in 1981. These have been published as appendix 12 in volume III of its report "Financing of the Nationalised Industries" HC 348—III.