§ Mr. FaberTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the Building Research Establishment. [388]
§ Mr. GummerOn 2 October, the Construction Industry Council sent to me the business plan developed by the construction industry for a national centre for construction, thus meeting the deadline I set out in my reply of 2 April to a question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones). I am grateful for the work the industry's representatives have put into the preparation of this plan which I have considered very carefully, but I have concluded that it does not provide a satisfactory basis on which to enter a single tender negotiation to transfer BRE to the private sector. As I advised the House of 2 April, my next option is to privatise BRE through a competitive sale. I am therefore putting in hand at once the action necessary to seek tenders.