Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Government-Owned Companies – 18 July 1988

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Government-Owned Companies on 18th July 1988.

Mr. Gordon Brown To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table in cash terms showing, for each of the years 1979–80 to 1988–89 for each of the organisations which has been included in at least one year in the equivalent of table 4.1 of Cm. 288, all write-offs of loans, public dividend capital or other liabilities, and equivalent information on Government-owned companies.

Mr. Major Write-offs of Government loans and debt for public corporations are given in the table for the calendar years 1979-87. It is not possible to forecast write-offs for 1988-89.

Similar information for all companies that have been Government-owned in at least one year from 1979 is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Year | Organisation Write-off (at outturn prices) | £ million
1980 | National Freight Corporation | 100
1980 | British Airways Board | 160
1981 | British Steel Corporation | 3,509
1981 | Scottish Development Agency | 2
1981 | Welsh Development Agency | 1
1982 | British Steel Corporation | 1,000
1982 | British Transport Docks Board | 81
1983 | Port of London Authority | 24
1983 | National Dock Labour Board | 24
1984 | British Telecom | 40
1986 | New Town Development Corporation | 1,591
1986 | Development Board for Rural Wales | 33

Note: There were no write-offs in 1979, 1985 or 1987.