§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what policy on depreciation has been adopted by 15W British Telecom in its half-yearly accounts published last month; and how this policy differs from depreciation in each of the last three years' annual accounts.
§ Mr. ButcherBritish Telecom has made a number of changes in respect of the 1983–84 financial year which are fully explained in the statement by the chairman of British Telecom on the occasion of the publication of the half-year accounts for April to September 1983. A copy of this statement has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will undertake to supply a full prospectus to any potential purchaser of shares in British Telecom.
§ Mr. ButcherThe full prospectus will be published in four national newspapers and will be generally available for potential purchasers to consult.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what he estimates is the capital investment required to convert all British Telecom's exchanges to digital.
§ Mr. ButcherThe programme for investing in digital exchanges is a long-term programme and it would be misleading at this point to give an estimate of its total cost. However by early 1987, BT expects to have placed orders for £1,250 million worth of system X equipment and 10 per cent. of existing exchange lines to be digital.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many new digital exchanges have been installed in London by British Telecom (a) in total and (b) within the past 12 months; and what proportion these figures represent of all exchanges in London;
(2) how many new digital exchanges have been installed by British Telecom (a) in total and (b) in the past 12 months; and what proportion these represent of all exchanges in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. ButcherI understand from British Telecom that the number of digital exchanges installed is as follows:
(a) Total (b) Last 12 months Proportion London Local 1 none 1 out of 555 Trunk none none International 1 1 1 out of 6 United Kingdom Local 54 39 54 out of 6,300 Trunk 2 2 2 out of 452 I understand that over 300 digital exchanges are due to be installed in. the near future.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate how long it would take to prepare audited accounts for the last five years for British Telecom that would satisfy the existing Stock Exchange rules; how many professionally qualified chartered accountants would be required; and what the total estimated cost would be.
§ Mr. ButcherReporting accountants were appointed in October 1983 and are well on course to resolve the matters appropriate to their responsibilities.
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Mr. Fisher askedthe Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is for depreciating British Telecom's (a) domestic telephones, (b) exchange equipment, (c) property assets and (d) cable.
§ Mr. ButcherI have accepted British Telecom's view that the domestic telephone should be charged against profit with effect from the current year. It is for British Telecom to judge the lives over which its capital assets are to be depreciated and the view the corporation takes for the 1983–84 financial year is set out in the interim accounts published on 30 March 1984.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many professionally qualified chartered accountants are now employed by British Telecom.
§ Mr. ButcherI understand that British Telecom employs 273 professionally qualified accountants. It also has over 400 accountancy students.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether he has had discussions with the Stock Exchange Council about the suitability of British Telecom's audited accounts for the last five years or any other difficulties which might arise over the flotation of British Telecom;
(2) whether he has taken professional advice on the possible necessity to seek exemption from the Stock Exchange rules on flotation from British Telecom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButcherThe Department's advisers have been in touch with the Stock Exchange on these matters and I would expect further such contact at the appropriate time before the flotation. We aim to issue a full prospectus for British Telecom which meets the prevailing requirements. Any exemptions sought would need to be justified to the Stock Exchange in the normal way.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect he estimates that the Budget proposals on capital allowances will have on British Telecom.
§ Mr. ButcherBecause of the size of its capital investment programme, British Telecom may in the shorter term be adversely affected by the proposals on capital allowances. In the longer-term it should benefit from lower corporation tax.