HC Deb 18 December 1990 vol 183 cc95-6W
Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to be able to give a regional breakdown of the applications made for shares in each of the regional electricity companies.

Mr. Wakeham

The information is not available in the form requested.

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 13 December, if he will provide statistics of what the number of applicant customers on the customer priority application forms is expressed as a percentage of all domestic customers in the franchise area for each of the 12 regional electricity companies of England and Wales.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

Statistics on the numbers of customers applying on customer priority application forms are not available on a basis consistent with statistics on the total number of domestic customers for each regional electricity company.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has called for an analysis of who sold and bought regional electricity company shares on the first day of trading.

Mr. Wakeham

My Department will consider carefully the dealings in the regional electricity company shares during the early aftermarket with a view to applying this knowledge as appropriate to the generator flotation.

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give his most up-to-date estimate of the percentage of total share capital allocated to overseas investors in the flotation of the 12 regional electricity companies which have been sold on the United Kingdom stock market in the first 48 hours of trading.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

No such estimate is available.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy who were the lead underwriters for the flotation of the regional electricity companies; and whether they advised on the price of the shares.

Mr. Wakeham

The lead underwriters for the flotation of the regional electricity companies were J. Henry Schroder Wagg and Co. Ltd. which, among others, advised the Government on pricing of the shares.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his total expenditure to date in the current year on electricity privatisation.

Mr. Wakeham

Total costs of privatisation will be published in the appropriation accounts once flotations have been completed. Expenditure to the end of March 1990 amounted to £18.7 million and provision has been made for £34.5 million for the current year. Latest forecasts of requirements for 1990–91 will be published as part of the spring supplementary estimates early next year.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to be in a position to state how many applications for shares in one or more regional electricity companies were received from households involving more than one applicant.

Mr. Wakeham

The information will not be available in the form requested.