§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to sell the Government's residual shareholding in British Telecommunications plc.
§ Mr. DorrellAs my right hon. Friend announced in the debate on the autumn statement on 18 November, at column 303, the Government intend to sell all or part of their residual shareholding in BT next year. No decisions have been taken about the precise timing and the number of shares to be sold. We will shortly begin to appoint advisers to certain of the key roles and to incur preliminary sale costs.
Parliamentary approval to this new service will be sought in a spring supplementary estimate for Her Majesty's Treasury's sale of shares in British Telecommunications plc and sale or redemption of privatised companies' debt vote—class XVIII, vote 19. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure, not expected to exceed £2 million, will be met by repayable advances from the contingencies fund. Preliminary and main sale expenses incurred in 1993–94 in connection with the sale of shares will be met from receipts from the sale.