§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what special arrangements are to be made for members of the British Airways Board as part of the process of privatising the company; if he will give the reasons for these arrangements; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will make it his policy to ensure that the share issue in respect of British Airways contains provision for an allocation of shares to a British Airways employees trust; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerI refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's answer on 21 October which gave details of the share offers available to all employees at the time of flotation.
In addition, schemes will be put in place before privatisation to enable both employees in general and executives to exercise options after privatisation to buy further shares in the company. These save-as-you-earn and executive share option schemes will conform with the Inland Revenue and investment protection committee guidelines, but the final details have not yet been settled. I believe that it is important to give people at all levels working for British Airways the opportunity to take a continuing stake in the company's future, an objective which these schemes are intended to meet.
Shares acquired by employees on free and matching terms are required to be held in trust for specified periods. If employees decide to buy additional shares, they will be free to put them into a trust or deal with them in any other way that they think fit. However, the number of shares an employee acquires will be for that individual to decide, and the allocation arrangements will be framed accordingly.