To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the sale of Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Within the next few months. Although the target date of April 1991 set out in the disposal programme for the Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries has not been met, satisfactory progress is being made.

Scottish Office Ministers justified the privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group on the grounds that it would create new and vigorous Scottish-based companies and encourage employee participation. Why, then, has the Minister thrown out employee bids in at least two Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries and sold the companies instead to a private predator from south of the border in one case, and to a predator company boasting among its directors the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) in the other? Does the Minister not understand that the Scottish bus industry is not a plaything for him to palm off to his party's friends but a vital national service for which he has shown himself unworthy to hold responsibility?

The hon. Gentleman is quite wrong. We have followed the terms of the disposal programme exactly and have made it quite clear that the principles under which we operate are sustained and fair competition. We support employee participation and the maximisation of sales proceeds. We have given preference to management-employee buy-out teams—

Where?

The answer is Lowland Scottish, Scottish City Link, Eastern Scottish and Kelvin Central Buses, and that has been done regardless of price, although a 5 per cent. preference was stated in the disposal programme, which is working extremely successfully so far.