§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of subsidies in both monetary and real terms given to(a) agriculture and (b) mining for each year since 1979–80, including the latest forecast for 1992–93 and the estimates for 1993–94, for both industries in total and also for both industries on the basis of the amount of subsidy per worker.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 18 November 1992]: The tables provide figures only for central Government subsidies to agriculture from 1979–80 to 1991–92, and grant aid to the coal industry from 1979–80 to 1992–93. It is not possible to forecast the level of agricultural subsidies in 1992–93 and 1993–94, as expenditure depends to a considerable degree on unpredictable conditions. On mining, it is not possible to provide figures for the element
Table 1. Agricultural subsidies 1979–80 to 1992–93 Year Subsidy monetary £ million 1 Subsidy real £ million 2Total workers '000 Monetary subsidy-worker £ Real subsidy worker £ 1979–80 677 1,568 740 915 2,219 1980–81 1,012 1,982 726 1,395 2,730 1981–82 972 1,736 710 1,370 2,445 1982–83 1,433 2,388 706 2,030 3,382 1983–84 1,717 2,734 700 2,453 3,906 1984–85 1,710 2,591 693 2,467 3,739 1985–86 2,162 3,108 693 3,120 4,485 1986–87 1,444 2,010 684 2,110 2,939 1987–88 1,630 2,151 665 2,451 3,235 1988–89 1,380 1,698 657 2,100 2,584 1989–90 1,258 1,452 644 1,953 2,255 1990–91 1,910 2,042 642 2,975 3,180 1991–923 2,086 2,086 628 3,322 3,104 1992–934 n/a 5n/a 621 n/a n/a 1 Real subsidies are shown in 1991–92 prices. 2 Total number of workers, farmers, partners, directors and working spouses. 3 1991–92 expenditure figures are provisional. 4 No comparable figures available until the publication of Agriculture in the United Kingdom by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in January 1993. 5 1992–93 work force figure provisional. Sources: 1979–80 to 1986–87: Annual Review of Agriculture 1984–88.
1987–88 to 1991–92: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1989–1991.
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Table 2. Grant aid to the coal industry 1979–80 to 1992–93 Grant per worker Year Grant £ million Monetary Real1 Total workers ('000)2 Monetary £ Real £ 1979–80 266 616 295 902 2,088 1980–81 269 526 294 915 1,789 1981–82 623 1,112 279 2,233 3,985 1982–83 600 998 266 2,256 3,751 1983–84 1,335 2,126 246 5,427 8,642 1984–85 2,614 3,962 222 11,775 17,847 1985–86 1,126 1,618 180 6,256 8,988 1986–87 1,492 2,078 142 10,507 14,633 1987–88 972 1,283 117 8,308 10,966 1988–89 468 576 105 4,457 5,485 1989–90 7,371 8,509 85 86,717 100,105 1990–91 234 250 74 3,162 3,378 1991–92 526 526 58 9,069 9,069 1992–93 127 3122 n/a n/a n/a 1 Real grants are shown in 1991–92 prices. 2 Total employees of British Coal and subsidiaries in September for 1979–80 to 1983–84 and in March for 1984–85 onwards. 3 1992–93 work force numbers not yet known. of the external financing limit for 1993–94 published in the autumn statement which will be grant aid until decisions have been taken in the light of the coal review.
However, it should be made clear that a direct comparison of levels of subsidy to both industries cannot be inferred from the tables below. This is because both receive subsidies in addition to those funded from Government expenditure. In the case of agriculture, additional subsidies are provided by consumers, who pay higher food prices due to the guaranteed price support system of the common agricultural policy, though these cannot be quantified with any accuracy. In the case of the coal industry, additional support has been provided for British Coal through 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 has amounted to about £1 billion a year.