HL Deb 06 April 1995 vol 563 c38WA
Lord Molloy

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the cost to date of advertising and related matters for privatising publicly owned industries.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Henley)

The table shows the cost to the Government of advertising in each privatisation by flotation or secondary share sale since BT (1984). Information on the advertising costs of earlier sales is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Advertising Costs in Privatisations
Share Offer Year Costs (exc. VAT)

£ million

BT (1) 1984 9.7
Britoil 1985 3.0
Cable and Wireless 1985 2.2
British Aerospace 1985 1.7
British Gas 1986 21.4
British Airways 1987 2.8
Rolls-Royce 1987 1.6
BAA 1987 4.9
BP 1987 18.3
British Steel 1988 4.9
Water 1989 15.3
Regional Electricity Companies 1990 14.2
Generating Companies (1) 1991 5.6
Scottish Electricity Companies 1991 5.3
BT (2) 1993 14.0
Northern Ireland Electricity 1993 1.1
BT (3) 1993 11.9
Generating Companies (2) 1995 8.1