§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) of 27 November 1996,Official Report, columns 273–76, what is his current estimate of the (a) gross and (b) net proceeds of sale of companies previously owned by British Rail. [15402]
§ Mr. WattsTotal gross proceeds of those companies, which were previously owned by British Rail and which have been sold pursuant to the Railways Act 1993, are £5.35 billion. This includes dividends of some £800
Number over five minutes late (BR) p10 1995–96 p11 1995–96 p12 1995–96 p13 1995–96 p1 1996–97 p2 1996–97 p3 1996–97 p4 1996–97 p5 1996–97 p6 1996–97 p7 1996–97 p8 1996–97 p9 1996–97 Chiltern 40 62 79 41 35 38 102 45 franchised Great Eastern 544 441 399 137 113 129 256 153 127 138 156 276 453 Isle of Wight data not available London Tilbury and Southend 160 160 157 133 74 107 franchised Northampton Lines 143 155 250 176 211 84 162 104 86 118 103 193 181 North London Lines data not available Kent Coast 490 410 464 328 134 102 237 175 200 169 225 franchised Kentlink 838 762 903 597 314 263 559 381 302 361 506 franchised South London Lines 404 333 324 266 193 206 franchised Sussex Coast 186 180 220 145 101 82 franchised Solent and Wessex (main line) 141 140 franchised South Western Lines (suburban) 301 216 franchised Thames 94 99 109 83 47 61 114 69 114 55 109 franchised Thameslink 171 203 160 200 72 75 146 181 107 88 164 183 219 Great Northern 334 286 417 227 138 172 170 123 121 246 227 396 328 West Anglia 177 128 181 73 52 41 101 114 68 50 43 331 151 North London Orbital data not available Watford Locals 73 73 110 87 86 54 45 45 48 25 33 87 87 488W million and £50 million paid before the sales of rolling stock leasing companies and BR infrastructure companies; proceeds still to be realised from the sale of Railtrack plc; and gross proceeds of sales completed after 27 November 1996. Vendors' costs of sales up to 31 March 1996 are estimated to be £51.66 million. As completion accounts and costs of sales for a number of sales in the current year have yet to be finalised, an estimate of net proceeds is not available.
Percentage over 5 minutes late (BR) p10 1995–96 p11 1995–96 p12 1995–96 p13 1995–96 p1 1996–97 p2 1996–97 p3 1996–97 p4 1996–97 p5 1996–97 p6 1996–97 p7 1996–97 p8 1996–97 p9 1996–97 Chiltern 4.8 5.8 7.8 3.8 3.6 3.7 10.0 4.2 franchised Great Eastern 24.4 15.9 14.8 4.9 4.5 4.9 9.8 5.6 4.7 5.3 5.7 10.0 16.5 Isle of Wight data not available London Tilbury and Southend 13.8 9.4 9.8 7.8 4.8 6.6 franchised
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his current estimate of the cost of departmental staff working on rail privatisation; and what sums his Department has spent on bought in services in this connection. [15401]
§ Mr. WattsMy current estimate of the cost of departmental staff working on rail privatisation in 1996–97 is £2.1 million; the cost of services bought in in connection with rail privatisation in 1996–97 is £5.8 million, exclusive of VAT.