§ Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what limits have been set on the external financing of the nationalised industries for the financial year 1980–81.
§ Mr. BiffenThe limits are as follows:
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Nationalised Industries' External Financing Limits 1980–811 £ million National Coal Board 834 Electricity Council and Boards 187 North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board 59 South of Scotland Electricity Board 73 British Gas Corporation -400 British National Oil Corporation 101 British Steel Corporation 450 Post Office 652 British Airways Board 230 British Airports Authority 20 British Railways Board 750 British Transport Docks Board -10 British Waterways Board 30 National Freight Corporation 24 National Bus Company 85 Scottish Transport Group 9 British Shipbuilders 120 Notes: (1) No figure is included for British Aerospace in view of the prospect of selling shares in a successor company in 1980/81. In the case of British Airways and the National Freight Corporation limits have been set in view of the uncertainty about the timing of the proposed sales. As in the past, the forecast shown for BNOC does not represent a limit. (2) The limit for the Post Office is set before taking account of the expected inflow of funds in 1980–81, resulting from delayed billing following
the recent industrial action by computer operators, and will be adjusted when the inflow is known accurately.