§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the(a) number, (b) percentage of the total and (c) current value is of shares held by Her Majesty's Government in companies privatised since 1985. [146837]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithInformation on the number and nominal value of the Government's shareholdings held at 31 March 2000, as reported to the Treasury, is contained in Table B13 of the Supplementary Statements to the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund accounts 1999–2000. Since then the Government have disposed of shares in British Telecom, and I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Barbara Follett) on 3 July 2000,Official Report, column 93W. Information on what proportion of the total these represent is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The market value of these shares can be derived from prices quoted on the London Stock Exchange.