§ Mr. McWilliamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied that the present arrangements for the disposal of publicly owned assets are such as to maximise the return to the Consolidated Fund.
§ Mr. Ridley[pursuant to his reply, 4 March 1982, c. 219.]: As we have made clear, we shall consider carefully the appropriate method of sale in relation to further asset sales. We certainly do not rule out the possibility of different arrangements in future from those we have hitherto employed.
§ Mr. Stottasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has issued any guidelines in connection with the privatisation of public assets by forming new companies as to where the border should be drawn between the public sector and the private sector in relation to levels of shareholdings.
§ Mr. Ridley[pursuant to his reply, 8 March 1982, c. 305.]: No. The sector classification of a corporate body 379W depends on the degree of control implicit in the relationship between it and the public sector, and each case is decided in the light of the full circumstances.