asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the subsidy on coking coal for each year comparing one with another for the years 1970 to 1978; and what was the subsidy on coking coal for the same period in East Germany and Poland.

Grants in respect of coking coal were paid only in the financial years ending March 1974, 1975 and 1976 when the annual totals were £15·0 million, £2·1 million and £7·6 million respectively. For 1978–79 they will be £3·6 million. We have no information on coal subsidies in East Germany and Poland.