HC Deb 17 July 1972 vol 841 cc28-9
29. Mr. Walter Johnson

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is now able to state what the prospects are for the holders of workers' shares in the old Rolls Royce Company.

Mr. Michael Heseltine

I have nothing to add to the statement by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the Adjournment debate on 17th April.—[Vol. 835. c 194–6.]

Mr. Johnson

Is not the Minister aware that many holders of workers' shares are retired staff who not only gave a lifetime of service to Rolls Royce but invested their life savings as well? Surely the Government can look again at this very human problem and try to find some way of compensating these people?

Mr. Heseltine

I fully sympathise with the very deep feelings of the hon. Gentleman and, I am sure, any of those who worked for the company for a lifetime. But the fact of the matter is that it is impossible to devise a scheme which distinguishes between one group of shareholders and another. This is the view we expressed in the Adjournment debate. and I am afraid that no way round it has been found subsequently.

Mr. Rost

As any compensation to shareholders must depend to a large extent on the value placed by the independent assessor on the assets taken over by the Government, should not the independent assessor's investigations be held publicly? As the new company has been trading for 18 months, when can we expect the first profit figures?

Mr. Heseltine

If my hon. Friend cares to table a Question about that, I shall deal with it as soon as possible. But I am delighted that we have been able to go ahead with the appointment of the expert, so that the negotiations about the valuation can proceed as fast as possible.

Mr. Benn

As the Government have made a notable exception in underwriting the engine to the end of its life in respect of its work with the Lockheed Tristar, and as the people involved had worked with Rolls Royce over a very long period and were not simply investors, would it not be possible for the Government to single out this group and to make some special provision to meet their needs in some category totally different from that of ordinary investors

Mr. Heseltine

Again, I can only say that this is a matter at which we have looked very carefully, and there are various anomalies with which one is confronted—people who have disposed of their shares, and people who have bought shares at lower prices—which make it very difficult to see a way out of this very difficult situation. The only other area that merits further consideration is the difficulty that arises as a result of the locked-in position that developed in respect of the workers' shares, and this is a matter which perhaps, when a suitable occasion arose, could be considered for legislative change.