§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further progress has been made towards the privatisation of the Crown Suppliers.
§ Mr. ChopeAs a step towards privatisation, I have authorised Crown Suppliers to commence selling to the private sector. This activity will be controlled in accordance with a business plan which will provide for sales and costs to be monitored by Ministers with the aim of ensuring that there is no cross-subsidisation of the sales to the private sector. The arrangement will enable Crown Suppliers to test its ability to trade with the private sector, which will be a feature of privatisation.
In addition, I have received a report by Coopers and Lybrand on the organisation of Crown Suppliers during its move towards privatisation. The report recommends that there should be three divisions operating as discrete businesses: product supply and services, a transport division and a buying agency. I am considering these recommendations which are aimed at putting the Crown Suppliers' operations on to a more commercial footing in preparation for its move into the private sector.