§ Q42. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the progress being made in privatising public services at national and local level.
§ Mr. WhitelawI have been asked to reply.
We have already accomplished the sale of British Aerospace, and legislation is now on the statute book to permit the sale of shares in the National Freight Company and in British Airways. In addition, legislation is currently before Parliament to enable the introduction of private capital into the British Transport Docks Board, certain British Rail subsidiaries, the Radiochemical Centre, Cable and Wireless Ltd. and some of British Telecommunications' peripheral activities. We shall also reintroduce next Session as a matter of high priority legislation enabling the sale to the public of equity in BNOC's exploration and production activities.
At the local level, it is for individual councils to decide whether to contract out the provision of local authority services. We are taking steps to encourage them to do so through the dissemination of information about experience of contracting out both in this country and abroad, as well as more directly through the provisions of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 governing the operation of their direct labour organisations.