§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been paid to the Gibraltar Government for the purposes of refurbishing and maintaining the Gibrepair shipyard in Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenSo far we have paid £29,845,175 to the Gibraltar Government out of the £30.4 million development aid grant for the conversion of the former naval dockyard into Gibrepair Ltd.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in view of the report by Price Waterhouse on Gibrepair Ltd., it is his intention to provide some of the additional finance required to retain this shipyard as the major employer in the dependent territory; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe Price Waterhouse report on Gibrepair Ltd. was commissioned and financed by the 353W Gibraltar Government who are responsible for any follow up action on it. As I told the House on 3 November 1986 at column 685, we agreed in 1983 to provide up to £28 million towards the establishment and initial working capital of Gibrepair Ltd. In 1986 we agreed to allocate a further £2.4 million for increased capital costs as a final contribution to the project. This position is unchanged by the Price Waterhouse report.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been paid out of Her Majesty's Government's funds to Appledore Ltd., managing agents at Gibrepair Ltd. shipyard in Gibraltar, since July 1983; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenFees payable under the management contract between Appledore International Ltd. and Gibrepair Ltd. are not financed from Government funds. The costs of previous and separate consultancy arrangements since July 1983 between the Government and Appledore for the necessary groundwork before commercialisation of the shipyard are a matter of commercial confidence.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether, during the recent meeting in London with Sir Joshua Hassar, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, he discussed the financial difficulties of Gibrepair; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what discussions he has had with the Gibraltar Government on the future funding of Gibrepair Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenMy right hon. and learned Friend did not discuss this matter during the recent meetings in London with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. The future funding of Gibrepair Ltd. is a matter for the Gibraltar Government, the owners.