§ Ms Estelle MorrisTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the surplus in the pension schemes of(a) British Telecom, (b) British Gas and (c) electricity boards in the three years prior to privatisation.
§ Mr. LeighBritish Telecom did not have an independent pension scheme prior to privatisation in 1984. Employee contributions were made into the Post Office staff superannuation scheme. It is not possible to attribute surpluses or deficits separately to British Telecom employees and former employees within this scheme, but the overall Post Office staff superannuation scheme did not show a surplus in this period.
51WValuations of the electricity supply pension scheme are normally carried out once every three years. The last valuation prior to privatisation took place on 31 March 1989 and revealed a surplus of £89 million.
There was no surplus in the British Gas staff pension schemes in the three years prior to privatisation.