§ Mr. SoleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guarantees against the failure of the power supply to London Underground his Department has required, and from which parties, following the tendering exercise. [31977]
§ Mr. NorrisNone. This is an operational matter and any such guarantees will be a matter for discussion in due course between London Underground and the preferred bidder for its Power PFI project.
170W
§ Mr. SoleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if staff members' pensions will be restored to their original value in the event of a failure of a contractor to meet the standards required by London Transport in supplying electrical power to the underground and that contract being returned to London Underground; [31979]
(2) if staff pensions will be preserved when transferred to companies bidding for the power supply to London Underground. [31978]
§ Mr. NorrisI understand that London Underground will require the chosen contractor under its Power PFI project to offer the staff who will transfer to him pension arrangements which are broadly comparable with the existing London Transport pension scheme. In the event that a contractor defaulted and the relevant staff transferred back to London Underground until a new contract could be let, it is likely that they would temporarily rejoin the LT pension scheme.