§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when his Department prepared the contingency plan relating to Railtrack. [R] [16030]
§ Mr. JamiesonI refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's statement to the House of 5 November 2001,Official Report, columns 19–29.
607W
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what date he sought legal advice on the price at which it would be necessary to compensate shareholders if Railtrack were re-nationalised. [15501]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 16 November 2001]: Such details are exempt from disclosure under section 2 and 4 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he expects Railtrack administration to last no more than six months. [17113]
§ Mr. JamiesonI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 22 November 2001,Official Report, column 389W.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 November 2001,Official Report, column 898W, on Railtrack, what advice the agencies gave the Government about (a) what would be required and (b) the minimum time scale to secure an A/A2 rating. [17210]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe definitions of particular credit ratings and the criteria required to achieve them are available from the individual credit rating agencies.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 November 2001,Official Report, column 899W, on Railtrack, if he will place copies of the correspondence in the Library, as requested. [17225]
§ Mr. Mark FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the value on 5 October of Railtrack shares held by(a) local authorities as part of a general portfolio and (b) pension funds on behalf of local authority employees. [17670]
§ Mr. JamiesonMy Department does not hold this information.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when press officers in his Department were first briefed about the possibility that Railtrack would be put into administration. [17795]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Details of internal discussions and advice are exempt from disclosure under section 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice he received prior to 5 October on the status of the financial facilities held by Railtrack with the banks following the making of the administration order. [17791]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Such details are exempt from disclosure under section 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
608W
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many and what proportion of Railtrack shares were owned by institutional investors(a) at privatisation and (b) on 1 October for each year following. [18231]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe proportion of shares in Railtrack Group plc held by institutional investors at flotation on 20 May 1996 and for subsequent years—as detailed in the Annual Report and Accounts—is shown.
Percentage 20 May 1996 42 24 April 1997 66 5 May 1998 70 30 April 1999 77 5 May 2000 82 1 May 2001 83
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on how many days following privatisation Railtrack shares were worth(a) more and (b) less than their opening price; and what the highest and lowest values were of a single Railtrack share between privatisation and 1 October. [18232]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe closing share price for Railtrack Group plc was above the flotation price of 308p on every day between its flotation on 20 May 1996 and 4 June 2001 and also on 8 June 2001. The share price reached a peak of 1768p on 23 November 1998.
The closing share price for Railtrack Group plc was below the flotation price of 308p on the 5. 6, and 7 of June 2001 and on every day between 9 June 2001 and 1 October 2001. The lowest closing share price was 252p on 20 September 2001.