§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list every company privatised since 1979, showing the percentage of the work force in each company which bought shares in the company and the percentage of the work force that retained shares in the company(a) one and (b) three years after privatisation.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 21 June 1988]: The companies privatised by Government share sales since 1979, and the percentage of eligible employees participating in the employee share arrangements, are as set out:
Company and date of sale Percentage of eligible workforce participating British Aerospace (February 1981) 74 Cable and Wireless (October 1981) 99 Amersham International (February 1982) 99 National Freight Company (February 1982) 36 Britoil (November 1982) 72 Associated British Ports (February 1983) 90 Enterprise Oil (June 1984) 71 British Telecom (November 1984) 96 British Gas (December 1986) 99 British Airways (February 1987) 90 Rolls-Royce (May 1984) 96 BAA (July 1987) 98 In addition to the foregoing, employees of Royal Ordnance, which was sold to British Aerospace in April 1987, were offered free shares in British Aerospace, funded by the Government.
There have also been a number of sales of subsidiaries by nationalised industries and Government-owned companies. Of these, the sale of Jaguar was accomplished by a public share offering, and 19 per cent. of employees purchased shares. In the sale of British Shipbuilders (Warshipyards), VSEL, which purchased two of the eight 521W yards, made special arrangements for employees, and 82 per cent. of those employees purchased shares. Arrangements for employees to purchase shares were also made in the sales of some Rover Group and National Bus Company subsidiaries.
Information on the number of employee shareholders who retained their shares in the privatised companies one and three years after privatisation is not available.