Building Research Establishment

HC Deb 28 January 1997 vol 289 c139W

Mr. Garel-Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has selected a preferred purchaser for the Building Research Establishment; and if he will make a statement. [13455]

Mr. Robert B. Jones

Following our consideration of the two final offers for the Building Research Establishment, we have decided to select the BRE management bid team as the preferred purchaser. We were grateful for the work done by the Built Environment Research Foundation in preparing its bid, but have decided not to proceed with it further. We are now firmly on course to transfer BRE to the private sector by the end of February as planned.

The Government's objectives for the sale are: to secure the provision of high-quality, independent and impartial research and development and advice, at good value for money, that meets the requirements of Government and industry and is responsive to the commercial needs of industry; to transfer the establishment to the private sector by the end of February 1997; and to optimise the net proceeds to the taxpayer.

The BRE management team bid was the one which best demonstrated that it met all the sale objectives. Overall the management team bid offers the best value for money for the taxpayer.

One of the Government's objectives from the outset has been to privatise BRE in a way that would secure wide support from the industry and the research world. I believe that the Foundation for the Built Environment model has this wide support. I am pleased to say that the Construction Industry Council has indicated that it will support it, as have an impressive number of organisations from all sections of the industry, and the major university interests.

We have looked very carefully at the preferred purchaser's proposals for safeguarding impartiality and independence in the private sector. In our view, the management bid team has demonstrated that the structure of ownership it proposes for BRE within the Foundation for the Built Environment will protect the impartiality and independence for which BRE is renowned. We believe that the organisation will continue to be able to provide high-quality, independent and impartial research and advice under its new ownership.