HL Deb 22 July 1997 vol 581 c151WA
Lord Tebbit

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether all Ministers are now permitted to keep substantial numbers of shares in their personal possession as opposed to the former practice of placing investments in blind trusts.

Lord Richard

The edition ofQuestions of Procedure for Ministers issued in 1992 offered Ministers three means of avoiding an actual or apparent conflict of interests between their ministerial responsibilities and their private investments. These were disposing of the interest, allocating ministerial responsibilities to avoid any conflict, or, where ministers held an investment portfolio consisting of a variety of different shares, placing them in a blind trust. Ministers of this Government continue to abide by these principles.