HC Deb 07 March 1994 vol 239 c18W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 16 February,Official Report, column 830, if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter to him from BMW; and to what extent the assurances therein have been affected by subsequent developments.

Mr. Sainsbury

No. Copies of the letter were placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 31 January.

Honda has stated that it intends to continue current and planned collaborative programmes with Rover subject to negotiations on the commercial terms.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 9 February,Official Report, column 319, whether he expects the amount of research and development on Rover cars, other than Land Rover, to increase solely as a result of the takeover by BMW.

Mr. Sainsbury

The amount of research and development expenditure on Rover cars will be a commercial matter for BMW.