§ Mr. Robert Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has agreed revised strategic objectives with the BL board.
§ Mr. Norman LamontYes. The Board's objectives are:
- 1. To return BL and its constituent businesses, either together or separately, to the private sector as soon as practical, while satisfying the Board's fiduciary duties. In any case where this objective cannot be achieved, the Board will review the future of that business.
- 2.To pursue in the Corporate Plan a specifically targeted programme of profitability improvement, within stated limits of public funding, so as to achieve a rate of return that would attract external funds on normal commercial terms without Government support.