§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what date he expects the Government to have redeemed all its special shares in non-defence-related, former nationalised companies. [145733]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe Government do not have a prescribed timetable for redeeming special shares in non-defence-related former nationalised companies.
§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the criteria his Department uses to determine the speed, and order in which the Government redeems its special shares in former nationalised companies. [145734]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThere are no set criteria to determine the speed and order in which the Government redeem their special shares. Each case is treated on its merits.
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§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning redemption of Government special shares in(a) BAA pic, (b) BAE Systems, (c) Belfast International Airport, (d) BG pic, (e) British Energy pic, (f) Cable & Wireless plc, (g) CDC pic, (h) Eurostar (UK) Ltd., (i) Inter-Capital and Regional Rail Ltd., (j) London and Continental Railways Ltd., (k) National Grid Group pic, (l) Pheonix Natural Gas Ltd., (m) PUK pic, (n) Rolls-Royce pic, (o) Scottish Power pic, (p) Scottish and Southern Energy pic, (q) Scena Line Ltd., (r) UK Nirex Ltd., (s) Viridian Group pic and (t) VSEL Ltd., respectively. [145732]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe Government consider all representations received concerning the redemption of Government special shares. Each representation is considered on its own merits. However, initial discussions between the Government and the respective organisations in these matters are commercially sensitive and could not be disclosed publicly.