HC Deb 18 November 1996 vol 285 cc389-90W
Mr. Raynsford

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 12 November,Official Report, column 104, on the Building Research Establishment, if he will list the criteria which were specified in April for the future operation of the Building Research Establishment. [4519]

Mr. Robert B. Jones

My right hon. Friend's 2 April statement did not specify criteria as such, but it made clear that BRE should remain a single entity in the private sector. This was because BRE offers a unique range of complementary skills and technologies, and fragmentation would both substantially increase costs to customers and reduce efficiency.

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the bidders for the Building Research Establishment. [4570]

Mr. Jones

The competitive sale of BRE is being conducted on a two-stage basis. We shall first be considering indicative bids from parties who have pre-qualified as potential purchasers, and subsequently final bids from a short list of these. We shall be treating information about bids and bidders as commercially confidential until a preferred purchaser is identified early in 1997.