§ Mr. HardyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what liability will pass to British Coal's successor in regard to the provision of superannuation cover in respect of those employees who accepted the British Coal contract of employment in 1994; and what provision has been made by British Coal to meet this obligation.
§ Mr. Charles WardleSuccessor companies will be liable only for employers' contribution to the new industry-wide schemes that are to be established and—except where a transferring employee also elects to transfer his past service entitlements—only in respect of transferred employees' future service with the successors. There is full provision for transferred employees' entitlements in respect of past service with British Coal within the funds of the existing pension schemes, now subject to guarantee by Government.
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§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes have been made to British Coal's external financing limit for 1994–95.
§ Mr. EggarThe external financing limit of the British Coal Corporation has been increased from £700 million to £736 million. This is attributable to a variety of factors including the effect on cash flow of privatising British Coal's mining business.