§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost of advertising the sale of shares in respect of each company privatised since 1979.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 5 December 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fallon) on 3 March 1988 at column 629. This lists the cost to the Government of corporate and flotation advertising and advertising agency fees, exclusive of VAT, for each privatisation and residual share sale since the British Telecom sale of December 1984. Comparable figures for previous sales are not readily available.