§ Mr. Norman Lamontasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common-wealth Affairs what was the total amount paid in rent for accommodation for diplomats in the last three financial years at the British embassies in Bonn, Rome, Paris, and Brussels.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe table below shows the amounts paid for residential rents at the four embassies in the last three financial years. The amounts are those borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and exclude rents paid by the Property Services Agency. The figures for Brussels also include the cost of the rented residential accommodation for United Kingdom based personnel serving at the United Kingdom Delegations to NATO and EEC, and those for Paris the cost of rented residential accommodation for personnel at the United Kingdom Delegation to OECD.
1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 £ £ £ Brusse[...]s, 222,155 297,416 369,053 Bonn 49,065 83,066 67,702 Rome 89,148 109,972 100,128 Paris 248,730 301,314 251,781
§ Mr. Norman Lamontasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the accommodation provided for diplomats at the embassies in Brussels, Bonn, Rome and Paris, is actually owned by Her Majesty's Government in each case; and to what extent it would be economical to increase that proportion in view of the cost of rented accommodation.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe table below gives the numbers of units of rented and owned residential accommodation at the posts named. The figures for Brussels include the accommodation of United Kingdom based staff serving at the Embassy and at the United Kingdom Delegations to NATO and EEC, and those for Paris for United Kingdom based staff serving at the Embassy and at the United Kingdom Delegation to OECD.
243W
Owned Rented Brussels … … 4 207 Bonn … … 4 133 Rome … … 3 67 Paris … … 50 104 The economics of purchasing or building accommodation as opposed to renting are assessed by applying the Treasury's test discount rate (TDR), which represents the return expected on invested capital. The TDR at present stands at 10 per cent., which means that in many parts of the world, and certainly in Western Europe, renting is generally more economical than purchasing or building, although opportunities to make economical purchases are taken when they arise. It would be necessary to reduce the TDR to improve the prospects for purchasing on economic grounds.