§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if any discussions have taken place with the chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency regarding the sale of the equity investments in Scottish companies.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if companies renting factory space from the Scottish Development Agency will retain the right to buy.
§ Mr. LangDetailed arrangements for the disposal of agency properties, including any conditions relating to existing tenants, have yet to be determined. In the meantime, requests to purchase particular properties will be considered by the agency on their individual merits, having due regard to the agency's duty to make the best use of public assets within its control.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate how much factory space, owned by the Scottish Development Agency, has been sold in each of the years 1979–80 to 1988–89 inclusive.
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§ Mr. LangFactory space sold by the Scottish Development Agency in each of the years 1980–81 to 1988–89 inclusive is shown in the table. No information is available for 1979–80.
Factory Space Sold (Square foot) 1980–81 286,664 1981–82 269,000 1982–83 1,016,271 1983–84 1,217,684 1984–85 2,110,043 1985–86 1,779,481 1986–87 1,996,000 1987–88 1,821,000 1988–89 1,536,009
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an estimate of the value of(a) factory space, (b) land and (c) commercial property owned by the Scottish Development Agency.
§ Mr. LangThe estimated value of industrial property, land and commercial property owned by the Scottish Development Agency as at 31 March 1988 (latest available date) is shown in the table.
Property Type Owned Value (£ million) Industrial property 130.1 Land 20.9 Commercial property 1.4 152.4 The industrial property shown includes business centres which in some cases may include office accommodation. The commercial property shown is confined to the agency's own offices.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an estimate of the value of the Scottish Development Agency investment portfolio in each of the years 1982–83 to the latest year for which information is available.
§ Mr. LangThe cumulative total of the Scottish Development Agency's investment portfolio is published each year in the agency's annual accounts. In accordance with the agency's accounting policies, the investments are. stated at cost and consist of secured loans, unsecured loans, loan stocks, preference shares and equity shares. Funding for these investments comes from grant-in-aid, public dividend capital, the National Loans Fund and the European Coal and Steel Community. The net cumulative total of agency investments (after provisions) for each year from 1982–83 to 1988–89 is set out in the table.
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£.000 1982–83 29,988 1983–84 37,259 1984–85 43,077 1985–86 42,032 1986–87 47,306 1987–88 52,065 1988–89 148,654 1 Unaudited.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the average rental per square foot of factory space owned by the Scottish Development Agency and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the sale of those assets on rents.
§ Mr. LangThe agency does not produce a figure for average rent for its properties, because the variations in rent between different locations, for different types of property and for other reasons render such a figure meaningless. On the impact of any sale on rents, tenants will continue to occupy their premises in accordance with the terms of their existing leases, which include provisions for rent reviews. Any change in rents will take place as a result of these reviews. These will take place over an extended period as they fall due, and it is not possible to anticipate what the effect might be.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the estimated value to be realised by the sale of factory space, land and commercial property owned by the Scottish Development Agency.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by constituency factories, land and other commercial properties owned by the Scottish Development Agency.
§ Mr. LangThis information is not available in the form requested and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the institutions being consulted regarding the take-over of the Scottish Development Agency's investment portfolio.
§ Mr. LangI have received advice from Quayle Munro Ltd. in connection with the possible disposal of the agency's investment portfolio. The agency has also sought professional advice as appropriate. There has otherwise been no formal consultation with financial institutions.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the Scottish companies which have shown an interest in the purchase of total land and property assets of the Scottish Development Agency.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that all factory space, land or commercial property sold by the Scottish Development Agency will be sold at market value.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the date on which all land and factories owned by the Scottish Development Agency are to be sold.
§ Mr. LangI expect to announce my decision on the sale of the agency's property portfolio, including the timing and nature of any such disposal, shortly.
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§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Scottish Development Agency or the Scottish Office has consulted(a) those who have leased land or property and (b) local authorities over the possible sale of industrial and commercial assets owned by the Scottish Development Agency.