§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total capital receipt from the sale of county hall in London; and if he will publish the amounts that have been paid to each London borough.
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 28 March 1994]: I refer to my answer of 23 November, Official Report, column 17, in which I explained that the total capital receipt from the sale of county hall was a matter of commercial confidentiality. Under the terms of the London Government Reorganisation (Capital Money) (Greater London) (Amendment) Order 1993, the London residuary body distributed the following amounts, totalling £60 million, to the London boroughs and to the City of London:
658Wdisbursed across three Departments. The latter could only be supplied at disproportionate cost. In addition £1.4 million was provided in 1990–91 to cover the agencies initial costs. The direct implementation costs of merging the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and the Countryside Commission for Scotland to form Scottish Natural Heritage incurred in 1991–92 were £118,000. This figure is exclusive of the administrative costs incurred by the Scottish Office Environment Department and the two existing agencies which could, again, be supplied only at disproportionate cost.