§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the Chairman of Cable and Wireless Limited will, in addition to his part-time salary of £9,000 per annum, be able to draw other payments; whether he will have to disclose them; to what extent he is entitled to continue to receive payments from public relations organisations; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. KaufmanIn accordance with the normal practice relating to part-time appointments to public boards, the Chairman of Cable and Wireless Limited is permitted to hold outside appointments provided that they do not conflict with the interests of the company, and to retain the fees. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has to be notified of such appointments.
However, in accordance with established practice, fees deriving from 580W appointments held in connection with the company's own affairs are paid over to the company.
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what discussions he has had with the directors of Cable and Wireless Limited or with their representatives about the level of remuneration of whole-time directors of the company; and if he will make a statement;
(2) on which date the resumed annual general meeting of Cable and Wireless Limited took place; and which of the full-time directors was re-elected to the board.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe company's annual general meeting was resumed and completed on 23rd December 1976 and all the full-time directors accepted re-election to the board pending the outcome of consideration of proposals relating to their remuneration. My right hon. Friend has met the chairman and other directors since then and advised them that the proposals were unacceptable to the Government.
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will list the annual salary being paid to each full-time director of Cable and Wireless Limited during the current year.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe annual salary being paid to the full-time directors of Cable and Wireless Limited during the current year is as follows:
Mr. A. A. Willett £12,828 Mr. R. W. Cannon £10,328 Mr. W. H. Davies £10,328 Mr. P. A. McCunn £10,328 Mr. R. A. Rice £10,328
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will list the wholly or partly-owned overseas subsidiary companies of Cable and Wireless Limited, the directors of each such company and the salary of each such director for the current and past financial year.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe subsidiary companies of the Cable and Wireless Group are listed in the annual report and accounts, a copy of which is in the Library. The list quoted in that report for the financial year 1975–76 remains complete. All fees paid by such subsidiaries to directors and employees of the group 581W who hold posts as director of any of these companies are paid directly to the parent company.
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Industry under what statutory authority his consent is required, or that of any other Minister, before any increase is made in the remuneration of the directors of Cable and Wireless Limited.
§ Mr. KaufmanThere is no specific statutory authority. The company is registered under the Companies Acts, and 100 per cent of its issued share capital is owned by the Government. The Government's powers are, therefore, those of the shareholder and derive from the Companies Acts and the articles of association of the company.