Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the recent effect on the public purse of the sale of public assets in the (a) Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) Royal Mail; and what steps he is taking to ensure the further sale of public assets does not result in a loss to the public purse.

On 4 August 2015, the government sold approximately 5.4% of its shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland raising £2.1 billion in proceeds. The proceeds raised from the sale will be used to pay down the government’s national debt.

The recent sale of Royal mail shares on 11 June 2015 raised proceeds of £750 million which will also be used to pay down the government’s national debt