§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the return on capital (a) in each of the nationalised industries and (b) in all other commercial state concerns; and what is the total capital 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:
Rates of Return on Capital Employed 1983—National Accounts Basis Rates of Return Industry Capital Stock £ billion Including subsidy per cent. Excluding subsidy per cent. Air Support Services (BAA; CAA) 1.2 7.4 7.2 Air Transport (BA) 1.3 6.9 6.9 Other Inland Transport (NBC;STG; LRT) 3.6 -2.0 -18.7 Posts and Telecom (PO; BT) 19.4 3.8 3.8 Rail (British Railway Board) 13.8 -1.5 -8.5 Shipbuilding (British Shipbuilders) 1.2 -11.6 -13.0 Steel (BSC) 9.0 -9.2 -9.2 Public Corporations (other than nationalised industries) 12.2 4.6 0.7 1983 rates of return for industries in the standard industrial classification division 1 (the energy and water supply industries) are not yet available as the assumptions underlying the rates, in particular asset lives, are at present under review by the CSO.
The basis for the calculation of the figures, which relate to all the public corporations in particular standard industrial classifications, was set out in the Treasury evidence to the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee in 1981 (published as appendix 12 of volume III of its report "Financing of the Nationalised Industries" HC 348-III). The rates of return given are based on national accounts statistics and, therefore, differ from figures based on nationalised industries' published accounts.