asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the total cost to the taxpayer of the nationalised steel industry since its creation, expressed as an average for each household.

The net loss of the British Steel Corporation between nationalisation in 1967 and end September 1979 amounts to £1,220 million. Over the same period the corporation has required finance from external sources of £4,400 million all of which counts, on current definitions, as public sector borrowing. These sums represent £60 and £220 respectively for each household in the United Kingdom.