§ Mr. ChurchillTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish details of the current level of public subsidy to British Coal, together with a schedule of payments made in each of the last 12 months, specifying on which vote these payments are borne.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 17 November 1992]: The current provision for assistance to the coal industry is contained in class V, vote 1 of the Supply estimates 1992–93. Section B of this vote provides for grant payments to British Coal in 1992–93 of £571.8 million. Grant payments since October 1991 have been as follows:
£ million October 1991 33.6 November 1991 42.8 December 1991 39.2 January 1992 51.3 February 1992 35.8 March 1992 133.2 April 1992 203.2 May 1992 95.9 June 1992 14.2 July 1992 30.9 August 1992 46.4 September 1992 53.2 In addition to Government financial support, British Coal has been benefiting from the high margins, over and above world market prices, that the electricity generators pay for their coal supplies from the corporation. Under present contracts, which have been operating since April 1990, this assistance amounts to about £1 billion annually.