§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received concerning pensions in the context of the deregulation of bus services.
§ Mr. David MitchellI have received many representations in respect of pensions for National Bus Company employees, in connection with our proposals to transfer the company's operations to the private sector. I have repeated the Government's undertaking to ensure that the assets of the pension schemes are fully adequate at the time of privatisation to discharge their responsibilities. I have also received representations in respect of pensions for employees of PTE and municipal bus undertakings in connection with the proposals in the Bill to transfer them to public transport companies owned by their parent authorities. I have replied that the Government wish to facilitate an option which will allow employees to remain in the local government superannuation scheme, and we are pursuing this with local government representatives.