HC Deb 15 February 1995 vol 254 c669W
Mr. Patten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those public bodies for which he retains departmental responsibility; which of these bodies have been identified as suitable for placing in the private sector; and by when it is expected each of these bodies will enter the private sector.

Mr. Gummer

Details of the public bodies for which I have departmental responsibility are listed in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1994". A copy is available in the House of Commons Library. In addition to the bodies listed in that publication I now have responsibility for two further executive non-departmental public bodies. These areStonebridge Housing Action Trust, Brent The National Forest Company

I announced plans in October 1994 to privatise the docklands light railway which is wholly owned by the London Docklands development corporation. The first step will be taken in 1996, when DLR operations will be franchised to the private sector for a period of about seven years. The second step will be taken at the end of the franchise period, when the aim will be to transfer the railway as a whole into the private sector.

There are no plans at present to privatise any of the other public bodies, but non-departmental public bodies are subject to a quinquennial review. Each such review considers the scope for privatising, contracting out or market testing all or part of the functions of the body. The Department's larger executive public bodies have programmes to contract out and market test parts of their work, where this is not already carried out in the private sector.