§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total cost in 1989–90 and 1990–91 of the revenue forgone in special tax allowances for companies associated with losses in the Piper Alpha platform disaster.
§ Mr. MaudeNo "special" tax allowances—other than those available to other companies involved in the North sea—have been available for companies associated with losses in the Piper Alpha platform disaster. There was a concessional relaxation in the rules that would have required petroleum revenue tax instalments to be paid by reference to profits made before the disaster. Such instalments would in any event have been repaid.