§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the reasons for the sale of mobile cranes by his Department.
§ Mr. David HowellFor many years the Department has maintained some 500 mobile cranes for use in emergencies. The cranes are now all over 25 years old and inappropriate to modern requirements. Future needs, should they arise, can be met by making use of modern equipment in commercial use. My Department has therefore embarked on disposal of the cranes, which will not be replaced.
In arranging disposal, account has had to be taken of the likely effect in a limited market on the United Kingdom crane manufacturing industry. Releasing a few working cranes at a time over a period of years would have involved the Department in storage, manpower and maintenance costs in excess of the sale proceeds. To avoid these costs while not damaging the industry's own sales prospects, the majority of the cranes have therefore been sold as scrap to the accredited representative of the industry itself, forgoing the possibility of higher receipts from a large volume of immediate sales on the open market.