§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make available in the Library the draft loan arrangement document for the financing of the Channel tunnel, which was referred to by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Hampshire, North-West (Mr. Mitchell) on 3 February, Official Report, column 870; and if he will make a statement;
175W(2) on what date the terms of the draft loan arrangement document for the financing of the Channel tunnel were first made public; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe draft loan arrangement document to which I referred on 3 February, at column 870, is a private document, but a summary of it was included as appendix IV of the Eurotunnel prospectus produced in October 1986, copies of which were provided to members of the Standing Committee which considered the Channel Tunnel Bill. That summary includes, at page 70, a reference to the loan from the European Investment Bank, which was under discussion at column 870.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement setting out the manner in which Her Majesty's Government communicated to British Rail the undertaking set out by the Minister of State on 3 February, Official Report, column 863, requiring British Rail to omit any provision for advance toll payments from the final usage contract for the Channel tunnel.
§ Mr. David MitchellIn October 1986 British Rail was instructed by letter to omit any provision for advance toll payments from the final rail usage contract for the Channel tunnel, because to the extent that such payments were made from Government funds they would be contrary to article 1 of the Channel Fixed Link Treaty. As I explained to the House on 3 February, at columns 863–64, clause 40 was introduced into the Channel Tunnel Bill to prevent payment of Government grant to British Rail for Channel tunnel services. There is thus no longer any risk of breach of the treaty, so the instruction to British Rail has been rescinded.