§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the total cost of maintenance and running costs of the royal palaces in each of the last five years; and how much his Department has received for each of those years from the royal household to assist with those costs.
§ Mr. BrookeThe cost of maintaining the occupied royal palaces has been as follows:
£ million 1988–89 19.7 1989–90 17.2 1990–91 22.5 1991–92 24.0 1992–93 21.9 As part of the bargain struck with successive sovereigns, all surplus revenue from the Crown estates is surrendered to the Exchequer. This income is around £70 million a year.