Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent and in what forms the coal industry in each country from which the United Kingdom imports coal receives subsidies from the public funds of the country concerned, both in terms of total annual subsidy and subsidy per tonne of coal imported.
§ Lord Cavendish of FurnessThere is no evidence to suggest that UK coal imports from the main coal exporting market economies are subsidised. In many cases, UK coal imports, far from being subsidised, are taxed by the producing country either at the production or the export stage. About 5 per cent. of UK coal imports are from the centrally planned economies of USSR and China and, due to the absence of market prices and exchange rates, it is not possible to say whether such imports are subsidised. About 2 per cent. of UK coal imports are from Germany, which heavily subsidises its coal industry.