HL Deb 05 July 1985 vol 465 cc1466-7WA
Lord Blease

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the actual (or estimated) profit (or loss) made by the respective operations in Northern Ireland of each of the United Kingdom public bodies listed below, during each of the five fiscal years 1980 to 1985: (i) British Telecom (till 1984); (ii) Post Office; (iii) National Giro Bank; (iv) Her Majesty's Stationery Office; (v) Royal Mint; (vi) BBC; (vii) Bank of England; (viii) British Airways.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Arts (The Earl of Gowrie)

The only public body for which this information is readily available is Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The trading results of HMSO's activities in Northern Ireland, after meeting all running costs, including financing charges, are as follows:

1980–81 £14,000 (loss)
1981–82 £93,000 (profit)
1982–83 £38,000 (profit)
1983–84 £48,000 (loss)
1984–85 £119,000 (loss)
The remaining bodies either do not differentiate their Northern Ireland activities in their published accounts or do not have significant commercial activities there.