Ms Clare McGrath:

This issue has come up previously. When we take leases, no less than any private company, we operate within the market. We have never been at the high end because we have chosen not to be. We are not about taking properties on a speculative basis; we do so because we have demands for accommodation. Two factors here are, first, the reduction in numbers in the Civil Service and, second, as I have said here previously, the concern to optimise our utilisation of the estate and increase densities, that is, have greater numbers in accommodation. We are using the owned estate more for that. When we are taking leases, I do not have any greater say than anybody else against whom I am competing in the market. Taking leases is an appropriate solution in certain instances.