asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate for the year 1979–80 of the total number of repayment traders who have opted for and are currently receiving monthly repayments of value added tax from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, broken down by trading classifications as in the answer to the hon. Member for Gosport, dated 23 November 1979; and what is the estimated amount of value added tax that will be repaid to each such group during 1979–80.
[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1979]: Estimates of VAT repayments are made globally and cannot be reliably broken down by both trade group and frequency of claim. It is estimated that in 1979–80 about £3,000 million will be repaid to traders making monthly claims. Approximate numbers of traders receiving monthly repayments are:
| Primary Industries | |
| 1. Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 52,700 |
| 2 Mining | 100 |
| Manufacturing Industries | |
| 3. Food, drink and tobacco | 2,900 |
| 4. Coal and petroleum products | 100 |
| 5. Chemical and allied industries | 100 |
| 6. Metal manufacture | 50 |
| 7. Mechanical engineering | 500 |
| 8. Instrument engineering | 100 |
| 9. Electrical engineering | 200 |
| 10. Shipbuilding | 300 |
| 11 Vehicles | 100 |
| 12. Metal goods not elsewhere specified | 100 |
| 13 Textiles | 300 |
| 14. Leather, leather goods and fur | 100 |
| 15. Clothing and footwear | 400 |
| 16. Bricks, ceramics, glass, cement etc. | 50 |
| 17. Timber, furniture etc. | 100 |
| 18. Paper, printing and publishing | 1,500 |
| 19. Other manufacturing industries | 200 |
| Construction | |
| 20. Construction | 22,200 |
| Utilities | |
| 21. Gas, electricity and water | 100 |
| Transport and Communication | |
| 22. Transport and communication | 2,700 |
| Distributive Trades | |
| 23. Wholesale distribution | 4,600 |
| 24. Retail distribution | 14,300 |
| 25 Dealers | 2,400 |
| Services | |
| 26. Insurance, banking, finance and business services | 1,000 |
| 27. Professional and scientific services | 300 |
| 28. Miscellaneous services | 1,900 |
| 29. Public administration and defence | 600 |
| Total | 110,000 |