§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what borrowing limits apply to each general lighthouse authority;
for each of the last five years, what is the amount of money allocated from the reserves of the General Lighthouse Fund to supplement light due costs;
if he will give the current level of liquid reserves available to the General Lighthouse Fund; and what is his current estimate of the level expected in March 1992.
§ (4) Mr. McLoughlinUnder section 662A of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (as inserted by the Merchant Shipping Act 1988) the borrowing limit applying to the General Lighthouse Fund is £100 million. This is not disaggregated to each general lighthouse authority. In the last five years the GLF reserves have met the following shortfalls of the income required to meet total operating costs plus depreciation:
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Year £ million 1986–87 3.2 1987–88 1.9 1988–89 5.9
Year £ million 1989–90 8.9 1990–91 111.8 1 Provisional. The liquid reserves stood at £22.1 million at the end of October and are expected to be around or below £20 million by March 1992.