§ 141. Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to issue a draft licence for public consultation for Mercury Communications Limited.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerMy right hon. Friend will give notice tomorrow, under section 8(5) of the Telecommunications Act 1984, that he proposes to grant Mercury Communications Ltd a licence under section 7 of that Act, and that he is making a draft licence available for a period of public consultation. He will also give notice under section 10(6) of the Act that he proposes to apply to Mercury, to have effect throughout the United
Numbers of employees and date Percentage change (a) On entering public ownership (b) Latest available BL Ltd 164,000 (1975) 81,000 (Dec 1983) -50.6 Bitish Shipbuilders 87,000 (July 1977) 49,000 (March 1984) -43.7 British Steel Corporation 257,000 (July 1967) 71,000 (March 1984) -72.4 British Telecom 246,000* (average 1981–2) 245,000* (average 1983–4) -0.4 Post Office 176,000† (October 1969) 181,000 (March 1984) +2.8 Rolls Royce 64,000 (1971) 39,000 (May 1984) -39.1 * In the 1981–2 figure part-time staff are counted as a half, but in the 1983–4 figure they are counted as one. † This figure relates to postal staff in the Post Office, which in 1969 also covered what is now British Telecom. It does not include any of the staff at Post Office central headquarters.