§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to honour the commitments in the 1991 White Paper "Privatisation of Northern Ireland Electricity" concerning provisions for existing employees to obtain a direct stake in the industry and concerning parallel provisions for shares for former NIE employees and those persons who transferred to successor generating companies to NIE.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe objective behind any employee share purchase is to give employees the opportunity to obtain a direct stake in the company in which they are employed. This is the objective lying behind the special arrangements offered to employees of NIE for the purchase of shares in NIE. Former employees of NIE are entitled to register and apply for shares in the flotation and benefit from the incentives offered, which are enhanced for customers. Those employees who transferred to successor generating companies may also be able to participate in any share incentive schemes made available by their new employers.