Mr. Jacksonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a statement showing the profits earned and dividends paid to the Government by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. annually since its incorporation; and if he will make a statement as to its financial prospects for the current year.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe following table gives BNFL's profits available for distribution and dividends paid from these to the Government since the company's creation in 1971.
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BNFL group—summarised financial results Year Profit available for distribution £ million Dividends £ million 1971–72 0.6 — 1972–73 2.7 — 1973–74 1.3 — 1974–75 3.6 — 1975–76 5.6 — 1976–77 1.4 0.3 1977–78 4.7 1.3 1978–79 15.7 2.2 1979–80 16.0 2.7 1980–81 12.9 2.7 1981–82 29.8 4.0 1982–83 44.9 12.4 139.2 25.6
Imports of coal into the European Community (million tonnes) United States of America Australia Canada South Africa Poland Other Total Federal Republic of Germany 2.9 0.5 0.9 2.3 1.9 0.3 8.8 France 8.4 1.5 — 5.0 1.9 0.2 17.0 Italy 10.7 1.2 neg 3.5 1.7 0.3 17.4 Netherlands 5.0 1.3 0.2 0.1 1.0 0.2 7.8 Belgium 4.5 0.5 — 3.0 0.3 0.2 8.5 Luxembourg neg — — 0.l — 0.1 0.2 United Kingdom 2.0 1.1 — 0.1 0.3 0.1 3.6 Ireland 0.3 — — — 0.4 — 0.7 Denmark 2.9 0.1 0.3 3.1 1.0 0.2 7.6 Greece 0.5 — — — — — 0.5 Total 37.2 6.2 1.4 17.1 8.5 1.7 72.1 Source: Statistical Office of the European Communities.
Coal production is not subsidised in the United States of America, Australia, Canada or South Africa. We have no information on whether Polish coal production is subsidised; we understand, however, that productivity levels in Polish mines are similar to those in the United Kingdom while wage levels for miners are considerably lower.