Crown Estate: Electric Cables

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue the Crown Estate collected from charges levied on cables crossing its land in each year since 2004; and how much the Crown Estate charged per kilometre of cable laid (a) on the seabed and (b) over ground in each year since 2004; (140467)

(2) how much the Crown Estate received in rent from business based in (a) Orkney and (b) Shetland in each of the last three years.

The figures are as follows:

*£000*
	2004-05	2005-06
Land based cables	1,242	976
Seabed cables	5,454	5,530
Rent from businesses
Orkney	147	173
Shetland	971	615

Financial information for 2006-07 is not yet available.

Under the British Telecom Master Wayleave Agreement, rents for cables are charged as lump sums per year, and are not charged by length.

Volume 461: debated on Wednesday 20 June 2007