§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money he estimates(a) has been paid to date and (b) will be paid in the current financial year by the Government or Railtrack for advice and other assistance in connection with the sale of Railtrack to (1) SBC Warburg, (2) Linklaters and Paines, (3) Ernst and Young, (4) Solid Solutions Associates, (5) Freshfields, (6) Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, (7) N. M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd., (8) Merrill Lynch International, (9) Simmons and Simmons, (10) Sullivan and Cromwell, (11) Deloitte and Touche, (12) Dewe Rogerson Ltd, and (13) the Royal Bank of Scotland plc (i) separately and (ii) in total. [25869]
§ Mr. WattsInformation about the payments to individual advisers is commercially confidential. However, as usual for major Government share sales, I expect to make an announcement about the total costs of the Railtrack flotation shortly after this has been completed.
§ Mr. Gorden PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amendments were made to the draft prospectus for the privatisation of Railtrack following receipt of the views of the chairman of the British Railways Board. [26418]
§ Mr. WattsAt the time the chairman of the British Railways Board's views were received the Pathfinder prospectus was still being drafted. A number of changes have been made to the draft since the version on which 153W the chairman was expressing his views to take account of comments received from the British Railways Board and other interested parties.