§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees were involved in save-as-you-earn share option schemes in each year since 1980; how many employees use the savings and bonus to purchase shares and at what cost to public funds; and how many employees take out the savings and bonus without buying shares and at what cost to public funds. [8308]
§ Mr. JackEstimates of the cost of income tax relief for options exercised under approved savings-related share option schemes, and the number of employees to whom options were granted are published in table 6.1 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1995", a copy of which is the Library.
The number of employees who exercised options is given in the table.
Year Number exercising options (thousands) 1984–85 20 1985–86 25 1986–87 65 1987–88 60 1988–89 70 1989–90 100 1990–91 175 1991–92 165 1992–93 190 1993–94 240 An estimate of the number of employees who take out their savings and bonus without buying shares is not available, but the cost of tax relief for the related save-as-you-earn accounts is included in the estimated cost of SAYE shown in table B.1 of "Inland Revenue Statistics".