§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake to conduct a ballot of railway pensioners before imposing any revised scheme for the management of their pension fund.
§ Mr. FreemanIt is for the trustees, trade unions, pensioners' bodies and individuals to make representations on the basis of the consultative document "Railway Pensions after Privatisation". They have done so extensively.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received on the future of railway pension schemes in response to his consultation document.
§ Mr. FreemanIn addition to representations from the British Railways Board, the British Rail Pension Trustee Company Limited and the railway trade unions, we have received responses from many other interested organisations, and numerous individual railway employees and pensioners. We are analysing these responses.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to revise the options offered to existing railway pensioners, as defined in paragraph 37 of his consultation document.
§ Mr. FreemanAs I informed Standing Committee B on 23 March, the Government aim to make decisions by the Report stage of the Railways Bill.