§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the costs of railway privatisation to date, broken down into(a) payments to legal, financial and other advisers and (b) administrative costs within (i) BR, (ii) Railtrack, (iii) the Office of the Rail Regulator, (iv) the Franchise Director and (v) within Government departments; and what estimate he has made of total expenditure under the same headings to the end of financial year 1995–96. [9947]
§ Mr. WattsConsultancy and administrative costs incurred to date by the Department, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and the Office of the Rail Regulator are as follows:
303WIn addition, the Health and Safety Executive incurred administrative costs of some £2.8 million, of which £2.0 million has be paid by the Department of Transport.
The forecast outturns to the end of the financial year are as follows:
Estimated costs in the last quarter of 1995–96 £ million Consultancy costs DOT 14.8 OPRAF 9.9 ORR 2.0 Total 24.3 Running costs DOT 0.8 OPRAF 3.3 ORR 2.2 Total 6.3 ORR capital costs 0.4 Grand total 31.0 British Rail and Railtrack have also incurred costs linked to privatisation, covering expenditure on administration, including consultancies, and on assets such as computer equipment and associated systems. Details of these costs are a matter for the industries themselves. However, we understand from BR and Railtrack that they will incur the following costs in the current financial year:
£ million BR 75 Railtrack 27 1. Forecast expenditure to 31 March 1996.
This expenditure has been incurred in support of Railtrack flotation and sales of rail businesses, which have so far yielded proceeds in excess of £2 billion.