§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what share incentives will be offered to employees and pensioners when the two Scottish electricity companies are privatised; and if he will make a statement.
§ 4. Mr. LangThe Government attach particular importance to the opportunity which privatisation will provide for employees to become shareholders in Scottish Power plc and Scottish Hydro-Electric plc. The special offers to employees will comprise:
461WA Free Offer
Employees will be offered free shares to a fully paid value of about £140, plus shares at a fully paid value of about £2 for every year of continuous service in the electricity supply industry up to a date close to flotation.
A Matching Offer
Employees will also be offered two free fully paid shares for every share bought at the offer price on a matching basis up to a maximum fully paid value of about £460 worth of free shares. Under this element of the package, if an employee bought shares with a fully paid value of £230, he would receive free shares to a fully paid value of £460.
A Discount Offer
Employees will be able to buy shares up to a maximum fully paid value of about £1,250 of additional shares at a discount of 20 per cent. from the offer price.
A Priority Offer
Employees applying for shares will be treated on a priority basis, over the general public, up to an individual fully paid limit of shares worth about £15,350. This may be subject to scaling down if the number of shares in either company applied for by employees and pensioners exceeds a prescribed proportion of the total number of shares on offer.
The free and matching share offers will be available to employees who satisfy certain minimum qualification periods of length of employment and hours worked per week. The discount and priority offers will be available to each person employed at a date close to flotation.
We have decided that pensioners of the companies should be able to apply on a priority basis, over the general public, for shares up to a fully paid limit of about £15,350, subject to any necessary scaling down.
We have also made special arrangements for employees and pensioners of Scottish Nuclear Ltd., which will not be floated on the stock exchange. Employees and pensioners of Scottish Nuclear will receive offers of shares in Scottish Power plc. on terms similar to employees and pensioners of ScottishPower.
Further details of the share offer arrangements will be made available to employees and pensioners in due course, including those resulting from Inland Revenue, stock exchange and other requirements applying to these offers.