§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of Government financial support for British Rail provided in(a) million pounds, (b) the amount needed to equal the 1979 allocation in real terms and (c) the percentage excess or shortfall compared to the 1979 allocation in real terms; and if he will provide a breakdown by the following (i) public sector obligation, (ii) external financing limit and (iii) external financing requirement for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. FreemanBritish Rail's external financing limit—EFL—for 1992–93 has been set at £2,096 million. British Rail's external financing requirement—EFR—for 1979 was £1,735 million in 1992–93 prices. British Rail's EFL for 1992–93 therefore shows an increase of 21 per cent. over the figure for 1979 in real terms.
The annual breakdown by public service obligation, EFL and EFR is shown in the table.
Government financial support for British Rail 1979 to 1992–93 £ million in 1992–93 prices Public service obligation grant External finance limit External finance requirement 1979 1,176 1,735 1,737 1980 1,180 1,620 1,620 1981 1,398 1,720 1,795 1982 1,425 1,611 1,481 1983 1,422 1,590 1,352 1 1984–85 1,692 1,477 1,660 1985–86 1,233 1,382 1,370 1986–87 1,004 1,141 1,131 1987–88 1,051 1,038 816 1988–89 688 971 482 1989–90 603 768 814 1990–91 669 781 1,134 1991–92 941 1,591 1,511 2 1992–93 1,040 2,096 n/a 1 1984–85 was a 15-month year. 2 The figure for public service obligation grant for 1992–93 is a ceiling.