§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has instructed Sealink to bring forward its proposals for privatisation to March next and if he will make a statement on this matter.
§ Mr. RidleyIt has long been agreed between the Railways Board and the Government that Sealink should be privatised at the earliest suitable opportunity. I hope that the board will be able to announce its plans for the sale within the next month or so.
£ million at 1984 prices 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 *1983 Expenditure on capital and revenue investment* 436 438 411 425 455 441 366 276 289 Expenditure on continuous welded rail 132 107 111 125 109 109 106 85 110 TOTAL 568 545 522 550 564 550 472 361 399 * The figures for 1975–1981 are derived from Table 8.1 of the Report of the Review of Railway Finances (vol. 1), 1983. † The figures for 1983 are provisional.