§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state, in current prices, the amount of debt written off by Her Majesty's Government in respect of each privatisation since 1979. [19603]
§ Mr. JackIt is common practice for capital reconstruction to be undertaken where necessary before privatisation. For some privatisations debt is written off, for others debt is injected. Debts written off in respect of privatisations total some £22.5 billion, in current 1995–96 prices. Details are set out in the table. New debt totalling £13.94 billion at current prices was injected into privatised companies at the time of sale.
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Debt Written off Prior to Privatisation £ million Year Company Amount (cash) Amount (1995–96 prices) 1980–81 British Steel 509.3 1,105.2 1980–81 British Aerospace National Freight 60.0 130.2 1980–81 Corporation 100.0 217.0
Debt Written off Prior to Privatisation £ million Year Company Amount (cash) Amount (1995–96 prices) 1980–81 British Airways British Transport Docks 160.0 347.2 1982–83 Board 81.3 150.2 1984–85 BT 2,789.9 4,689.9 1986–87 BAA 43.5 67.3 1988–89 British Steel 3,980.0 5,478.5 1989–90 Harland & Wolff 422.5 543.6 1989–90 Short Brothers 390.0 501.8 1989–90 Water companies 5,028.3 6,469.6 1991–92 Scottish Electricity Companies 1,043.6 1,170.0 1994–95 British Coal 1,633.4 1,678.3 Total 16,241.8 22,548.8