§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the exemption of profit-sharing schemes under the Finance Act 1978 from the pay guidelines; and what steps he proposes to take to bring this information to the attention of pay negotiators on both sides of industry.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe essential feature of successive pay policies has been the restraint of the growth of earnings.
325WSchemes under the Finance Act 1978 are capital-sharing schemes, with their capital nature protected by the five-year locking-in period; accordingly, they are not subject to current pay policy. I see no need to bring this to the special attention of pay negotiators.