HC Deb 08 February 1994 vol 237 cc229-30W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list of British companies in which a controlling interest has been sold since 1979 for more than £50 million.

Mr. Neil Hamilton

The information in the form requested is not readily available. However, the Central Statistical Office, CSO, bulletin on "Acquisitions and Mergers within the UK", available in the Library of the House, provides some details on, inter alia, expenditure of acquisitions and mergers within the United Kingdom. A summary of table 4 of the latest bulletin, dated 16 November 1993, is as follows:

Size distribution of acquisitions and mergers within the United Kingdon Total acquisitions and mergers
Year Expenditure over £100 million Expenditure over £10 million and up to £100 million
number acquired number acquired
1986 21 119
1987 30 192
1988 44 172
1989 40 181
1990 18 89
1991 17 63
1992 7 64
1993 Q1 4 15
Q2 1 25
Q3 2 22

Source: Table 4, CSO bulletin, "Acquisitions and Mergers within the UK".

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 406, what is the perceived barrier to trade which will be removed by the standardisation of electricity supplies.

Mr. Eggar

That manufacturers and suppliers are presently obliged to make or stock equipment of a different specification if they wish to export within the EC.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of(a) the competitive advantage which will accrue to countries within the European Community whose electricity equipment already uses the nominal voltage of 230/400 volts by the standardisation of electrical supplies, and (b) the competitive disadvantage which will occur to those manufacturers which do not.

Mr. Eggar

A number of EC countries now use 230/400 volts as the nominal voltage and the rest are changing or are in the process of doing so by 1995. Consultations with manufacturers in this country and their representative trade associations have clearly indicated that considerable advantages will be realised through rationalised product ranges and thus reduced production costs together with uniform safety standards and harmonised certifying procedures throughout the European Community as a whole. Manufacturers outside the EC who do not adopt similar standards will be at a disadvantage when trading within the EC.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessments he has made as to the costs of the standardisation of electrical supplies to manufacturers of electrical equipment; and what consultations he held with the manufacturers before he accepted the new standards.

Mr. Eggar

The assessment of costs to manufacturers of electrical equipment of the proposed standardisation of supply voltage was made through a formal exercise. Consultations were carried out during 1992 with electrical equipment manufacturers in this country and through the major trade associations. Cost reductions of up to 5 per cent. were predicted in the event of the new standard being adopted.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 408, what proportion of the organisations representing (a) the United Kingdom electricity companies, (b) equipment manufacturers and (c) consumers consulted were opposed to changes in the reduction of voltage supplies.

Mr. Eggar

Those organisations who responded adversely to a reduction of supply voltage were:

  1. (a) Electricity supply companies—none
  2. (b) Equipment manufacturers—less than 10 per cent.
  3. (c) Consumer organisations—no firm views.