§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the result of the consideration by the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) of the further privatisation of car parks operated by that 453W Department; what factors preclude the privatisation of all such car parks rather than a proportion of them; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe Department has undertaken an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of privatisation of car parks outside Belfast which has established that it is desirable to offer car parks in groups to provide a profitable basis for testing the market.
The current programme provides for a significant increase in the extension of the charging system in provincial towns in the course of the next year. This will permit groups of car parks to be offered for management by the private sector in line with the Department's objective to privatise this activity where it is considered cost effective to do so.