§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to written answer 23221, of 19 December 2001,Official Report, column 495W, for what reason this information is market sensitive; and which share prices of other markets could be affected by the provision of a response to it. [26732]
§ Mr. SpellarRelease of this unaudited information could have an adverse effect on the company's bonds. We are not aware of other share prices of other markets that could be affected.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who will provide working capital for the company limited by guarantee prior to the completion of Railtrack administration. [30240]
§ Mr. JamiesonNo working capital will be required.
213W
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) who made the approaches to(a) Mr. Iain McAllister and (b) Mr. Iain Coucher to join the team working on a company limited by guarantee to bid for Railtrack; and what other approaches have been made to potential directors of a company limited by guarantee to bid for Railtrack; [30230]
(2) who took the decision to recruit (a) Mr. Iain McAllister and (b) Mr. Iain Coucher to the team working on a company limited by guarantee to bid for Railtrack. [30231]
§ Mr. JamiesonIt is in the public interest that at least one viable bid is submitted to the administrator for him to judge alongside any other bids that are made. To this end my Department took the initial steps to engage a team to develop a bid based on the concept of a company limited by guarantee.
My Department announced the appointment of Iain McAllister on 29 November 2001. Subsequently, the Strategic Rail Authority announced on 17 December that it had taken responsibility for the engagement of the CLG team and for meeting its bid costs. The SRA announced the appointment of Iain Coucher on 16 January. Copies of the relevant press notices have been placed in the Library of the House. It is for the bid team to make a proposal to the administrator, including a proposal for the management of the proposed company.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who will meet the legal costs of the team working to establish a company limited by guarantee to bid for Railtrack. [30237]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe cost of the bid team's legal advisers, will be paid directly by the Strategic Rail Authority from within its budget.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether he has received requests from the European Commission for clarification of the application for state aid consent for Railtrack in administration. [30229]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere is a continuing dialogue with the European Commission about the application that the United Kingdom has submitted for state aid approval.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2002, ref 30241,Official Report, column 320W, how and when these costs will be repaid to the SRA. [33409]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 4 February 2002]: The SRA is itself funding the cost of putting forward a proposal based on the concept of a CLG on the basis that it is in the public interest to ensure that at least one viable bid is put to the administrator, which would enable Railtrack to be taken out of administration as soon as possible, which articulates a particular vision for a not for distributable profit railway network operator and which can be tested against other bids.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether Schroder Salomon Smith Barney is retained by his Department. [33412]
214W
§ Dr. Whitehead[holding answer 4 February 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 8 January 2002, Official Report, column 583W.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how many shares he held in Railtrack Group Plc on 31 March 2001; how many he holds now; and what value was received for shares sold; [34785]
(2) what the market value at 31 March 2001 was of shares held by him in Railtrack Group Plc; and what the current market value is of such shares. [34786]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 8 February 2002]: The Government held 1,031,243 shares in Railtrack Group Plc at 31 March 2001, approximately 0.2 per cent. of the total called up share capital. They still holds these shares.
At the share price of 687p on 31 March 2001, the Government's shareholding was valued at £7.08 million. Trading in the shares of Railtrack Group Plc was suspended on 8 October 2001. At that time the share price was 280, valuing the Government's shareholding at £2.89 million.