§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to ensure that any further land-sale windfalls arising from privatisation (like those which fell to Royal Ordnance) fall either to the original landowner or the taxpayer, and not to private parties.
§ Lord Young of GraffhamIn any privatisation, the new owners of the privatised company must be free to manage the business commercially. The Government's aim is to obtain the best terms for the taxpayer consistent with a successful sale. To this end, pricing negotiations and decisions prior to a sale take into account professional advice obtained by the Government on the value of all a company's assets, including its interests in land.
In the case of Royal Ordnance, the sale was to the top bidder in an open competition. The purchaser, British Aerospace. has not so far sold any former Royal Ordnance sites, and any assessment of the value of these sites were they to be sold must at present be highly speculative.