§ Mr. Rhodes Jamesasked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has to improve the accountability of the appliance retailing and contracting activities of area electricity boards.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerIn the light of the recommendations on appliance retailing and contracting in the Monopolies and Mergers Commission reports on the London, Yorkshire and South Wales electricity boards, the Government and the Electricity Council have agreed that, starting from 1983–84, boards will publish separate accounts for each activity. The allocation of costs to these accounts will reflect the proportionate use of resources in the two activities, with showroom costs being apportioned on the basis of staff time and usage of space. A financial objective has been agreed for each of the two activities; this is an average return of 5 per cent. on current cost net assets in the four-year period from 1984–85. The target return is based on the aggregate performance of all the area boards. In addition, each board will aim to achieve at least an average 2 per cent. return on net assets for each activity over the target period.
The Government welcome the contribution that these measures will make towards improving boards' accountability and helping them to show that they are trading fairly and profitably in the appliance retailing and contracting activities.