§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will list the(a) address and (b) latest valuation of his Department's London-based building assets; and if he will make a statement; [156597]
(2) what his latest estimate is of the value of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London; and if he will make a statement. [156598]
§ Yvette CooperThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has two building assets in London, Burlington House, Piccadilly and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference centre. Although the latter is operated by an Agency of the Office, the building is held as an asset centrally.
The central block of Burlington House is owned freehold by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and is let on a long lease to the Royal Academy. It has a balance sheet value of nil.
The Quadrangle Buildings at Burlington House are also owned freehold, and are occupied by Learned Societies. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister envisages the continued presence of those Societies at 1042W Burlington House and discussions are continuing with them with a view to finalising the arrangement. The balance sheet value of the buildings is £1.35 million.
The current book value of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre building is £24 million. This was derived through annual indexation changes to a full independent valuation of £20 million as at 1 April 1999. The building is due to be re-valued as at 1 April 2004.