§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost is of the Government's guarantees associated with the report of the asset liability study carried out by the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme as a percentage of the surpluses over the next 30 years for each scheme. [57824]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 22 May 2002]: The findings of the asset liability studies commissioned by the trustees of the two former British Coal pension schemes remain confidential to the trustees and the Government.
On 17 January the Government and the scheme' trustees made a joint statement agreeing a review of the arrangements for the Government's guarantee of basic retirement benefits for the members of the schemes. It was agreed that the review should explore how changes in circumstances since 1994, when British Coal was privatised, might best be reflected in revisions to the guarantee arrangements which would benefit members. In doing so, the trustees and the Government recognised that any revisions will need to be based on an equitable sharing of risk and reward between the schemes and the Exchequer, and will need to be sufficiently robust to operate satisfactorily in a wide range of conditions.